EMMA  \;ILLARD, 


COL.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  FLOWERS 
MEMORIAL  COLLECTION 


TRINITY  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
DURHAM,  N.C. 


The  Gift  of  

Date  pPc^/^y^J^^ 


,  FOR  BEt?INNERS.  1^5 

for  them  ;■  'efrra"  dlso,  where  you  might  send  for  such 
as  are  needed  here. 

Should  you  be  a  statesman,  and  be  chosen  to 
some  public  office,  it  would  be  your  business  to  man- 
age  the  affairs  of  your  country  to  the  best  advantage. 
Many  of  our  most  interesting  national  concerns  re- 
late to  foreign  countries,  and  it  would  be  impossible 
for  you  to  proceed  with  your  duties  without  knowing 
the  geography  of  those  countries  :  and  still  more 
impossible  to  succeed  without  an  intimate  acquain- 
tance with  the  geographical  situation  of  your  own. 

Besides  the  advantages  of  the  study  as  regards 
the  gratification  of  a  laudable  curiosity,  your  reputa- 
tion as  a  person  of  information,  your  success  in  bu- 
siness, and  your  usefulness  to  your  fellow  beings, 
there  is  another  very  important  consideration.  The 
study  of  geography  may  lead  your  mind  to  pious  re- 
flections,'by  bringing  to  your  view  the  power,  wis- 
dom,  and  goodness  of  God.  The  immense  coun- 
tries of  which  geography  will  inform  you,  with  all 
their  products  of  men,  animals,  and  vegetables,  the 
lofty  mountains,  whose  tops  rise  above  the  clouds, 
the  great  rivers  which  flow  down  their  sides,  and 
after  passing  through  extensive  countries,  mingle 
with  the  vast  ocean — all  these  are  the  workmanship 
of  His  hands,  whose  creatures  we  are.  When  we 
consider  the  power  which  he  has  displayed  in  their 
creation,  the  wisdom  with  which  he  has  fitted  them 
to  their  various  uses,  and  the  goodness  with  which 
he  has  adapted  them  to  the  wants  of  his  livmg  crea- 
tures,  while  we  contemplate  iliem^  we  shall  learn  to 
adore  Him. 


GEOGRAPHY 


I.ESSON  SECOND. 
PART  I  * 
DEFINITIONS. 

rL.\N  OF  AN  INTRODUCTORY  MAP. 

Mother.  The  earth  on  which  we  live,  ahhough 
\  it  appears  to  stretch  out  all  around  us  like  a  vast 
plain,  has  been  found  to  be  a  great  globe  or  ball.  • 
People  live  on  every  side  of  it.  The  blue  heavens 
and  the  stars  are  around  it  on  every  side.  When 
the  sun,  which  shines  on  all  its  parts,  though  not  at 
the  same  time,  is  giving  his  bright  light,  the  sfars 
cannot  be  seen.  The  people  which  live  on  the 
earth,  let  them  stand  on  which  side  they  will,  always 
stand  with  their  feet  pointing  towards  the  centre  of 
the  earth,  and  they  always  sup[)ose  that  the  part  of 
the  heavens  to  which  their  own  heads  point,  is  the 
highest. 

Frank.  So  then  it  is  only  in  our  own  fancy,  that 
our  own  heads  are  uppermost. 

Mother.  It  is  even  so.  The  whole  earth  is  cov- 
ered Vv^ith  land  and  water,  but  the  water  spreads  over 
rather  more  than  tvvice  as  much  surface  as  the  land. 
The  first  step  then  towards  learning  the  science  of 
Gfeogmphy,  vvhich  you  recollect  I  told  you  is  a  de- 
scription of  the  earth,  is  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  divisions  of  land  and  v/ater  as  they  were  formed 
by  their  Creator :  and  the  names  which  the  inhabi- 
tants  of  the  earth  have  given  them. 

But  mere  words  could  never  convey  to  the  mind 
the  infinite  variety  of  forms  v/hich  the  different 
parts  of  the  earth's  surface  assume.  Drawing  is 
therefore  used  and  pictures  are  made  representing 

*  lu  the  second  edition  some  of  the  lessons  are  so  much  extended 
that  it  was  judged  best  to  separate  them.  That  the  books  of  the 
first  and  second  edition  may  be  used  in  the  same  classes,  a  ncrv 
numbering  of  the  lessons  has  been  avoided. 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


the  seas  and  countries,  with  their  rivers,  mountains, 
&c,  on  globes  or  maps.  These  pictures  or  clelinea- 
tions,  are  a  language  speaking  to  the  eye,  and  may 
be  said  to  be  the  most  important  written  language  of 
geography.  My  object  must  now  ];e  to  make  you 
acquainted'  with  the  nature  of  maps,  which  are  more 
convenient  for  common  use  than  globes.  When 
you  study  a  map,  you  must  think  not  merely  of  the 
map  itself,  but  of  the  country  which  it  represents. 
But  this  is  very  difficult,  because  they  are  very  Httle 
pictures  of  very  great  things,  and  there  are  a  multi- 
tude of  objects  in  a  country  of  which  no  notice  can 
be  taken,  on  so  small  a  space.  When  you  have 
learned  the  divisions  of  the  earth's  surface,  which 
you  will  of  course  do  while  you  are  studying  your 
maps,  you  will  be  able  to  understand  my  further  in- 
structions concerning  the  productions  of  different 
countries  and  the  circumstances  of  their  inhabitants. 

Franlc,  When  I  ha,ve  l^een  thinking  of  learning 
geography,  the  different  places  of  which  I  have  read 
and  heard  come  into  my  mind,  but  they  all  seem 
disconnected,  and  it  appears  to  me,  that  if  you  should 
begin  b}^  attempting  to  teach  me  the  situation  of 
any  distant  place,  I  should  not  have  an  idea  of  it, 
because  there  would  seem  to  be  a  gap  between  this 
place  and  that.  Why  would  it  not  be  a  good  plan 
for  you  to  begin  here  where  v/e  are,  and  show  me 
what  countries  are  next  in  every  direction,  and  then 
what  countries  are  next  to  the_  o,  and  so  on  till  we 
take  in  all  the  countries,  to  the  very  ends  of  the  earth. 

Mother.  When  you  speak  of  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  you  forget  that  it  is  a  globe,  and  that  to  a 
round  ball  there  is  no  end  ;  but  I  believe  it  is  as  na- 
tural  for  people  to  suppose  that  they  stand  in  the 
middle  of  the  world,  as  to  suppose  the  top  of  the 
heavens  is  over  their  heads.  But  in  general  I  like 
your  plan ;  it  is  the  one  I  had  intended  to  pursue  as 
far  as  practicable.  -  --^ 


14 


GEOGRAPHY 


I  wiil  begin  with  sketching  a  little  map  of  our 
town.  I  shall  place  myself  to  draw  it,  as  I  now 
place  you.  Your  right  hand,  you  see,  is  towards 
the  place  where  the  sun  rises.  Now  tell  me  in  what 
direction  do  you  point  with  your  right  hand?  in 
what  with  your  left,  and  which  way  is  your  face  ? 

Frank.  My  right  hand  is  to  the  east,  my  left 
hand  to  the  west,  my  face  to  the  north,  and  my  back, 
of  course,  to  the  south. 

Mother,  I  will  now  commence  drawing  my  map. 
My  first  step  must  be  to  lay  down  the  scale  of 
miles, 

SCALE   OF  MILES. 


M-l-H  1 

A  i     1  2 

#5*  Mffh  


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


15 


Frank.  I  have  often  remarked  on  maps  a  straight 
line,  divided  into  equal  parts,  called  a  scale  of  miles, 
but  I  never  knew  what  it  meant,  or  why  it  was  pla- 
ced there. 

Mother.  But  you  will  find  there  is  much  informa- 
tioji  to  be  obtained  from  it. 

A  scale  of  miles  for  any  map,  shows  what  space 
on  the  paper  is  taken  for  a  mile,  or  for  ten,  one  hun- 
dred, or  any  number  of  miles  on  that  map. 

I  draw  this  line  for  my  scale  of  miles.  (See  the 
map.)  I  divide  it  into  two  equal  parts,  and  one  of 
these  parts  I  assume  for  a  mile.  That  is,  I  will 
draw  my  map  so  that  a  space  on  it  equal  to  this  line, 
shall  represent  a  mile  of  the  place  I  am  to  deline- 
ate. . 

Frank.  This  is  a  very  short  line  to  represent  all 
that  distance. 

Mother.  But  yet  it  is  very  comm.on  to  draw  maps 
so  that  a  line  shorter  than  this  shall  represent  a  hun- 
dred miles.  Observe  that  I  can  take  what  line  I 
please  on  my  map  to  represent  a  mile.  What  would 
be  the  effect  if  I  took  a  longer  line  than  this,  or  a 
shorter  one  ? 

Frank.  If  you  took  a  longer  one,  your  map  of 
the  place  would  be  larger  ;  if  a  shorter  one,  smaller. 

Mother.  Right.  This  town  is  six  miles  square. 
So  that  the  lines  on  the  outer  edge  of  my  map  must 
each  be  as  long  as  six  of  this.  That  is,  each  side 
must  be  six  miles  in  length  by  my  scale. 

Do  you  understand  the  diiference  between  six 
miles  square,  and  six  square  miles  ? 

Frank.  O  my  master  in  arithmetic  taught  me 
that.  A  place  to  be  six  miles  square  must  be  six 
miles  in  length  and  six  in  breadth ;  but  it  will  con- 
tain six  square  miles  if  it  is  six  miles  in  length  and 
only  one  in  breadth. 

Mother,  I  find  your  teacher  has  been  beforehand 
B  2 


16 


GEOGRAPHY 


Mill 


with  me.  I  had  prepared  i 
these  little  figures  to  show 
you  the  difference.  As  we 
shall  hereafter  attend  to 
the  size  of  countries  by 
comparing  their  number 
of  square  miles,  you  must 
remember  that  they  are 
equal  to  the  length  of  a 
country  multiplied  by  its  breadth.  The  numl^er  of 
square  miles  in  our  town  equals  6  the  length,  multi- 
plied into  6  the  breadth,  which  makes  36. 


SIX  square 

miles, 
six  miles 

square, 
contain- 
ing tfiirty 
six  square 

miles. 


LES80N  SECOND. 
PART  II. 

My  next  business  will  be  to  draw  the  i3oimdaries 
of  the  three  parishes  into  which  the  town  is  divided. 
As  my  face  is  to  the  north,  I  shall  naturally  put  the 
northern  parts  of  the  town  on  the  top  of  my  map,  the 
eastern  on  the  right  hand  side,  the  southern  on  the 
bottom,  and  the  western  on  the  left  hand.  Bounda- 
ries are  represented  on  maps  by  dotted  lines.  Ob- 
serve those  between  the  parishes. 

Frank,  But  there  are  no  lines,  or  walls,  or  marks 
upon  the  ground.  How  then  do  people  understand 
where  one  parish  ends,  and  another  begins  ? 

Mother.  When  the  lands  for  a  town  are  measiu'- 
ed  out,  or  as  it  is  termed  surveyed,  the  Surveyors 
sometimes  fix  on  some  remarkable  natural  object, 
as  a  great  tree  or  rock,  or  sometimes  erect  some 
monument,  and  reckon  by  straight  lines  from  one 
to  the  other,  and  sometimes  a  range  of  mountains 
or  hills,  or  a  river,  is  taken  as  a  line  of  separation. 
This  is  called  a  natural  boundary.  Some  such  are 
on  our  little  map,  and  as  I  cannot  give  the  boundary 
without  them,  I  sketch  them  here,  although  I  have 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


17 


not  yet  taken  up  the  subject  of  rivers  and  moun- 
tains.    Where  are  tliev  ? 

Frank.  But  I  should  tliinii  the  people,  if  there 
were  no  marks  or  walls  on  the  ground,  would  atter 
a  while  forget  and  so  quarrel  about  their  boundaries. 

Mother.  To  prevent  this,  the  surveyors  make  out 
maps,  laymg  down  the  boundaries  carefully.  These 
maps  geographers  copy.  You  will  see  written  on 
many  maps  "  compiled  from  actual  survey.''  Writ- 
ten descriptions  of  boundaries  are  also  given  by  the 
surveyors  which  are  deposited  in  places  set  apart  in 
towns  and  states  to  receive  public  records.  Boun- 
daries between  different  nations,  are  matters  which 
are  settled  by  treaties,  which  are  written  agree- 
ments, Avhich  those  nations  make  with  each  other. 
After  all,  you  are  not  wrong  in  supposing  that  people 
M'ill  sometimes  misunderstand  and  quarrel  about 
them.  Farmers  go  to  law,  and  nations  fight  battles 
about  their  boundaries. 

Any  place  is  said  to  be  bounded  by  those  places 
which  are  next  to  it  on  all  sides.  Now  let  us  bound 
our  own  parish  of  D.  Point  with  your  finger  and 
show  me  in  what  direction  are  the  towns  and  par- 
ishes adjoining. 

Frank.  West  is  parish  B.  ;  east  is  the  town  of 
X. ;  north  are  the  mountains,  and  on  the  other  side 
of  them  is  the  town  of  R.  ;  and  south  is  the  parish 
A. ;  but  it  is  not  exactly  south. 

Mother.  No  matter,  that  is  sufficiently  correct. 
Such  cases  frequently  occur,  and  we  must  be  con- 
tent  to  come  near  the  truth  if  we  cannot  hit  it  ex- 
actly. But  it  is  important  to  have  a  certain  way 
or  method  in  every  thing  we  do.  Then  we  are  not 
at  a  loss  where  to  begin,  nor  where  we  have  ended. 
Thefore  let  5-our  method  in  tracing  boundaries  be 
this.  First  mention  the  northern" boundary,  then 
the  eastern,  then  the  southern,  and  lastly  the  west- 
ern.  Whenever  a  river  or  mountain  forms  a  part  of 


18 


GEOGRAPHY 


the  boundary,  you  should  be  particular  to  mention  it 
in  your  description.  According  to  this  method,  I 
would  say  the  parish  D.  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
the  town  of  R. ;  east  by  the  town  of  X.  ;  south  by  the 
brook  which  separates  it  from  parish  A.,  and  west  by 
parish  B.  Sometimes  in  describing  boundaries  you 
will  have  occasion  to  use  the  terms,  north-west, 
north-east,  south-east,"  south-v/est.  When  you  do, 
use  them  in  the  order  in  which  I  have  just  mention- 
ed them.  For  example,  if  you  were  to  bound  par- 
ish A.  which  you  perceive  is  triangular,  or  three 
sided,  it  would  be  proper  to  say  it  is  bounded  north- 
west by  parishes  B.  and  D.  ;  east  by  the  town  of  X., 
and  south  by  the  town  of  W. 

Next,  I  will  put  down  the  rivers.  Large  rivers 
are  represented  on  maps  by  double  lines,  and  small 
ones  by  a  single  line.  I  will  now  draw  the  pond 
which  is  north  east  of  us.  The  boundary  between 
the  water  and  the  land,  which  is  called  the  shore,  is 
drawn  much  like  a  river.,  Shades  are  drawn  from 
this  line  tov/ards  the  part  which  represents  the  water. 

Next  1  will  draw  the  island  in  the  pond.  What 
is  an  island  ?  You  must  learn  to  express  what  you 
linow ;  and  you  already  understand  what  an  island 
is  as  well  as  any  geographer  can  teach  you. 

Frank.  Why,  an  island  is  land  with  water  all 
around  it. 

Mother,  Very  correct.  Here  are  two  small  ridg- 
es of  mountains,  which  as  they  constituted  a  part  of 
the  boundary,  I  was  obliged  as  I  mentioned  to 
sketch  at  first,  one  on  each  side  of  the  pond,  and  these 
must  be  represented  by  a  kind  of  shading.  Southeast 
of  us  is  the  high  hill,  which  being  a  single  elevation, 
must  be  represented  by  a  small  picture  of  a  hill, 
with  its  sides  shaded.  Formerly  such  elevations 
were  drawn  with  the  tops  pointing  to  the  north,  and 
the  western  side  shaded^  as  I  have  drawn  the  high 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


19 


hill.  At  present  the  person  drawing  the  map  is  sup- 
posed  to  be  looking  down  upon  the  earth  from  some 
distance  above  it,  and  a  hill  or  mountain  is  represen- 
ted by  shades  running  each  way  from  its  top,  as  I 
have  drawn  the  mountains  north-east  of  us. 


LESSON  THIRD. 

PLAN  OF  AN  INTRODUCTORY  MAP  CONTINUED. 

We  will  next  delineate  our  principal  city  and 
villages  ;  but  how  shall  I  proceed  ?  You  know  I 
could  not  on  this  little  piece  of  paper  make  a  pic 
ture  of  every  house. 

Frank.  I  should  think  it  would  be  as  well  to 
write  the  name  of  the  village  on  the  part  of  the  map 
where  it  belongs,  or  to  put  down  some  little  mark  to 
represent  it.  If  we  understand  that  ,this  signifies 
the  place  Y>^here  there  are  many  houses,  it  is  as  w^ell 
as  if  the  pictures  of  them  were  really  made. 

Mother.  Veiy  well.  And  this  is  actually  the  me- 
thod of  map-makers.  Great  cities,  as  well  as  small 
villages,  are  represented  in  maps,  by  placing  their 
names  on  the  part  of  the  map  which  represents  the 
spot  where  they  stand.  I  shall  represent  our  city 
of  C.  in  the  same  manner  as  the  villages  of  A.  and 
B.  A  small  circle  is  frequently  placed  to  mark  the 
site  of  a  city  or  village  more  exactly. 

Now  let  us  draw  the  principal  roads.  Roads  are 
delineated  on  maps  by  double  lines. 

If  I  divide  my  map  into  nine  squares  in  this  man- 
ner,  the  part  of  the  town  within  the  middle  square  is 
said  to  be  the  central  part ;  that  directly  above  it, 
the  north  part ;  that  between  the  north  and  east 
parts,  the  north-east,  and  so  on  as  described  upon 
the  map. 

Our  house  stands  on  the  road  from  the  village  of 
A  to  the  village  of  B,  two  miles  and  a  half  from  the 


20 


GEOGRAPHY 


northern  boundary  of  the  town.  Can  you  point  out 
its  exact  situation  on  the  map  ? 

Frank.  Now  I  see  the  use  of  the  scale  of  miles. 
By  that  I  can  find  how  much  two  miles  and  a  half 
are  on  this  map.  I  will  cut  a  slip  of  paper  long 
enough  to  reach  quite  across  it.  I  will  divide  this 
into  miles  by  the  scale.  I  can  then  find  the  distance 
between  any  places  on  the  map.  Here  is  my  pa- 
per. This  is  two  miles  and  a  half  from  the  north 
line  to  the  road,  and  this  is  the  place  for  our  house. 

But  could  you  not  make  many  more  objects  on 
this  map  ?  You  know  the  land  is  divided  into  farms  ; 
could  you  not  make  out  the  boundaries  of  each 
farm,  and  put  down  some  little  mark  for  the  place 
where  the  farmer's  house  stands  ? 

Mother.  Not  only  is  the  parish  divided  into 
farms,  but  each  farm  is  divided  into  separate  fields. 
Do  you  think  I  could  represent  each  one  of  these 
on  my  map  ? 

Frank.  I  think  not.  For  in  that  case  the  map 
would  be  nothing  but  boundary  lines,  and  it  would 
be  so  confused,  that  I  could  not  select  one  from  an- 
other. 

Mother.  You  now  see  the  correctness  of  what  I 
remarked  to  you,  that  as  the  map  is  so  very  much 
smaller  than  the  place,  only  the  most  important  ob- 
jects  can  be  delineated.  But  the  scale  of  this  map 
is  very  large,  compared  with  that  of  most  of  the 
maps  which  you  meet. 

Frank.  Why,  surely,  this  is  a  very  small  map. 

Mother.  Yes,  but  it  may  be  on  a  larger  scale  than 
one  twenty  times  as  large.  One  map  is  said  to  be 
on  a  larger  scale  than  another,(when»  a  mile  on  the 
first  is  a  greater  distance  than  a  mile  on  the  second  ; 
and  this  must  be  determined  by  comparing  their 
scale  of  miles.  Here  is  a  map  of  the  United  States, 
and  here  is  its  scale  of  miles.  One  mile  on  our  scale 
is  equal  to  about  fifty  miles  on  this  ;  so  that  our  map 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


21 


is  on  a  scale  about  fifty  times  as  large,  although,  as 
you  perceive,  it  is  a  much  smaller  map.  Suppose 
that  on  a  paper  the  size  of  ours,  I  should  now  make 
a  map  of  the  state  in  which  we  live,  which  is  at  least 
a  hundred  times  as  large  as  this  town,  could  I  then 
represent  this  town  as  I  have  here  represented  it  ? 

Frank.  Why,  if  the  map  is  to  be  no  larger,  and 
the  state  of  which  you  are  to  make  the  picture  is  a 
hundred  times  as  large,  then  the  picture  of  this 
town  must  be  a  hundred  times  smaller  than  this 
which  you  have  now  drawn  ;  and  in  that  case  if  you 
should  put  as  much  upon  it  as  you  have  here,  it 
would  be  as  much  confused  as  this  map  would  be, 
with  all  the  farms  and  fields  marked  upon  it.  So  I 
suppose  that  on  such  a  map  you  could  not  place  the 
boundaries  of  the  parishes,  or  the  names  of  the  villa- 
ges. Indeed,  on  such  a  map,  the  town  itself  could 
hardly  be  noticed. 

Mother.  You  are  right ;  and  the  counties,  each 
of  which  contains  several  towns,  would  not  appear  so 
large  as  the  parishes  on  our  map. 


Note  to  Insiructers. — !n  the  opinion  of  the  author,  every  instrue-:  • 
ter  ought  to  make  out,  however  rudely,  a  map  of  his  own  town ; 
as  it  will  much  more  forcibly  impress  upon  the  mind  of  the  pupil 
the  connexion  of  the  parts  of  the  map,  which  signity  objects,  with 
the  objects  themselves.  The  author  believes  that  children  fre- 
quently learn  maps,  without  thinking  of  the  countries,  rivers,  &c. 
but  merely  of  the  map.  Several  passages  of  this  work  are  inserted 
to  aid  them  in  acquiring  juster  views  ;  but  the  best  method  un- 
questionably is  to  see  that  their  first  impression  is  correct.  After 
having  learned  the  map  of  the  town,  the  teacher  might  be  fur- 
nished with  a  map  of  his  own  state,  and  directing  the  attention  of 
the  pupil  to  the  coimty  in  which  he  lives,  ask.  What  town  lies 
next  to  this  on  the  north  ?  On  the  east  ?  On  the  south  ?  On  the 
west  ?  Then  the  names  of  the  counties  might  be  learned,  and 
their  direction  from  the  county  in  which  the  scholar  lived,  and 
from  each  other.  Then  taking  the  whole  state,  ask,  (if  there  is  a 
scale  of  miles.)    How  many  miles  is  this  state  iii  length  ?  In 


22 


GEOGRAPHY 


breadth  ?    What  are  the  principal  towns,  rivers,  and  mountains  ? 
&c.    In  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  inti^Tductory  books  have 
/     been  published,  designed  expressly  for  the  children  of  those  states 


LESSON  FOURTH. 

DEFINITIONS,  &c.* 

Mother,  Here  are  some  maps  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  the  country  in  which  you  hve. 
They  are  prepared  in  a  manner  convenient  for  your 
use,  care  being  taken  to  make  them  simple,  so  that 
you  need  not  be  confused  by  a  multitude  of  names 
and  objects.  In  the  first,  the  boundaries  and  names 
of  the  states  are  almost  all  that  is  set  down ;  in  the 
second,  the  names  of  the  states  are  left  off,  and  those 
of  the  rivers,  divisions  of  water,  &c.  inserted  ;  the 
third  has  all  the  objects  which  are  delineated  on  a 
common  map. 

Divisions  of  land  and  water,  from  the  circumstan- 
ces of  their  size,  shape,  and  situation,  ha  ve  received 
particular  names.  The  first  use  which  I  shall  make 
of  these  maps,  will  be  to  give  you  some  farther  in- 
struction concerning  them.  In  this  lesson  you  may 
answer  the  questions  from  either  map,  as  you  find 
most  convenient.  You  may  now  look  on  your  map, 
and  tell  me  which  is  land  ?  which  water  ?  which 
objects  are  rivers  ?    which  boundary  lines  ? 

The  largest  division  of  water  is  called  an  ocean ; 
the  largest  division  of  land  a  continent.  These  will 
be  best  explained  when  we  come  to  the  map  of  the 
world  ;  but  I  must  mention  them  here,  because  the 
country  which  I  show  you,  is  a  part  of  a  continent, 
called  the  Western  continent,  and  is  bounded^  on 
the  east,  as  you  perceive,  by  a  part  of  an  ocean. 
What  is  this  ocean  called  ? 

*  See  first,  second  and  third  maps. 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


23 


Parts  of  the  ocean  which  extend  into  the  land 
are  called  Seas,  Gulfs,  and  Bays.  The  water  of 
this  is,  of  course,  salt,  like  that  of  the  ocean.  For 
examples  of  these  divisions  of  water,  look  on  your 
second  map.  South  of  the  United  States  is  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  of  which  only  a  part  is  on  your  map. 
This  might  with  equal  propriety  have  been  called  a 
sea  ;  so  might  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  which  }  ou 
may  see  on  your  map  north-east  beyond  the  bounds 
of  the  United  States.  In  this  part  of  the  world  it  is 
common  to  call  the  large  divisions  gulfs,  and  the 
smaller  ones  bays,  but  you  will  find  by  the  maps  of 
other  countries,  that  this  is  not  always  the  case. 
There  is  also  a  remarkable  bay  north-east  beyond  the 
United  States.  What  is  it  called  ?  What  are  the 
largest  bays  on  the  coast  of  the  United  States  ? 

Sailors  measure  the  depth  of  waters  by  a  line, 
which  is  divided  into  equal  paj'ts  of  six  feet  each, 
Cdlled  fathoms .  This  process  of  measuring  depths 
is  called  sounding.  Water  has  never  been  sounded, 
or  measured  with  the  lead  and  line  to  a  depth 
greater  than  4680  feet.  Some  parts  of  the  ocean 
are  no  doubt  many  times  deeper  than  this.  Where 
a  collection  of  water  partly  surrounded  by  land  has 
been  sounded,  it  is  called  a  sound.  There  are 
three  principal  sounds  in  the  United  States.  De- 
scribe their  situation. 

Frank,  But  what  are  these  on  the  top  of  the 
map,  which  so  much  resemble  the  picture  of  the 
pond  on  the  map  of  our  town  ? 

Mother.  They  are  called  lakes,  and  are  like 
ponds,  in  this  respect,  that  they  are  collections  of 
water  inclosed  uy  land,  but  they  are  larger.  Some 
of  these  are  larger  than  the  whole  state  in  which  we 
live. 

When  several  single  lakes  are  connected  by  nar- 
row passages  of  water,  they  are  called  a  chain  of 


24 


GEOGSAPHY 


lakes.  Narrow  passages  of  water  which  connect 
large  bodies  are  c^Wedi  straits.  Here  are  the  straits 
of  Mackinaw,  on  most  maps  spelled  Michilimacki- 
nack,  which  connect  the  lakes  Michigan  and  Huron. 

A  portion  of  land  nearly  surrounded  by  water,  is 
called  a  peninsula.  The  most  remarkable  peninsula 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  is  that  of  Florida ; 
the  whole  of  which  is  not  on  your  maps  of  the  U. 
States.  The  next  is  that  of  Cape  Cod,  which  reach- 
es out  into  the  sea  like  an  arm  with  the  elbow 
crooked.  Find  them  on  the  map,  and  tell  me  their 
situations. 

A  Cape  is  a  point  of  land  extending  into  the  wa- 
ter. This  is  sometimes  expressed  simply  by  the 
term  point.  Sometimes  the  whole  of  a  small  penin- 
sula is  called  a  point,  or  cape.  A  bay  frequently 
puts  up  from  the  sea  between  two  capes. 

What  are  the  twoj?apes  at  the  entrance  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  ?  Of  Chesapeake  Bay  ?  Of  Dela- 
ware Bay?  Where  is  Montauk  Point?  Sandy 
Hook  ?  What  other  capes  do  you  find  on  your 
map  ? 

I  have  now  commenced  teaching  you  the  geo- 
graphy of  our  own  country,  the  United  States  of 
America.  This,  as  you  perceive,  is  composed  of 
several  different  states ;  but  these  states  form  one 
nation,  because  they  are  united  under  one  govern- 
ment.  The  whole  name.  The  United  States  of 
America,  is  so  long,  that  it  is  sometimes  called  the 
United  States,  and  sometimes  America.  In  books 
of  Geography  it  is  generally  called  the  United  States, 
but  in  books  of  History  it  is  called  A^ierica,  and  its 
inhabitants  Americans. 

This  country  nov/  extends  m.uch  further  to  the 
west  than  these  maps  represent,  but  ss  the  land  is 
mostly  in  an  uncultivated  state,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  learn  so  pai'dciikrly  the  geography  of  the  western 
part. 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


25 


Now  stand  with  your  face  to  the  north.  This  is 
our  own  state.  Place  your  finger  upon  it.  What 
state  Hes  next  north  of  it  ?  What  next  east  1  south  ? 
west  ?  These  you  know  are  the  states  which  bound 
it.  Now  place  your  finger  again  on  our  own  state, 
and  trace  tovrards  the  top  of  the  map,  and  tell  me  all 
the  states  which  are  directly  north  of  it,  mention- 
ing that  nearest  to  our  own  state  first,  and  then  the 
one  next  north  of  that,  and  so  on  in  their  order. 
Now  tell  the  states  directly  east  in  the  same  man- 
ner ;  then  those  south  and  west.  Now  begin  again 
with  our  own  state,  and  trace  the  states  north-west ; 
next  those  north-east,  then  those  south-east  and 
south-w^est. 

Now  take  a  strip  of  paper  measured  by  the  scale 
of  miles,  and  tell  me  about  how  long  oar  state  is, 
reckonincr  ft  the  long'est  wav.  What  is  about  its 
breadth  ?  Here,  where  I  make  this  dot,  is  the  place 
in  our  state  where  we  live.  How  far  is  it  from  this 
point,  measuring  north,  to  the  northern  boundary  of 
our  state  ?  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  United 
States  ?  to  the  eastern  ?  southern  ?  western  ?  How 
do  the  states  which  border  on  our  own  state  compare 
in  point  of  size  ?  Which  appears  to  be  larger  or 
smaller  than  our  state  ?  Which  appears  to  be  the 
largest  of  the  states  ?  Which  the  smallest  ?  Now 
take  some  other  state,  and  suppose  you  lived  there, 
tell  me  w^hat  state  would  then  be  north  of  you? 
east  ?  &c. 

We  will  novv'  pay  attention  to  the  boundaries  ; 
but  a  difiiculty  here  occurs,  as  in  the  m.ap  of  our 
town,  and  we  must  get  over  it  as  well  as  we  can. 
If  we  study  the  boundaries  first  we  must  often  refer 
to  rivers  and  other  divisions  of  water,  of  which  we 
have  as  yet  learned  nodiing.  But  if  we  began  with 
the  divisions  of  water,  we  should  be  obliged  to  refer 
their  situation  to  countries  or  states  with  which  we 


26 


GEOGRAPHY 


were  also  yet  unacquainted.  On  the  whole  I  prefer 
commencing  with  the  boundaries,  and  for  this 
purpose  you  may  take  the  first  map.  If  you  do 
not  find  the  names  of  some  bays,  rivers,  &c. 
which  you  want  in  describing  the  boundary,  you 
can  easily  find  them  on  your  second  map.  I 
might  have  put  more  names  on  this,  but  my  plan 
for  you  is,  that  you  should  not  only  study  but 
draw  your  map.  This  will  at  first  be  somewhat  la- 
borious and  perplexing.  To  make  your  task  easy, 
the  first  map  which  you  are  to  draw  is  made  plain, 
and  not  confused  with  many  names  and  objects. 
But  you  must  not  be  discouraged  if  your  first  efforts 
are  rude.  You  will  soon  become  accustomed  to  the 
exercise,  and  will  then  find  it  a  delightful  occupa- 
tion,  and  it  will  not  only  be  the  best  way  of  acquir- 
ing an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  shape  and  situa- 
tion of  the  different  parts  of  the  earth's  surface,  but 
this  exercise  may  be  considered  as  first  lessons  in 
the  elegant  art  of  drawing,  to  acquire  which,  the  first 
steps  are  to  learn  to  measure  distances  by  the  eye, 
and  to  guide  the  hand  as  the  eye  directs.  When 
this  power  is  acquired,  it  may  be  applied  as  you 
please,  in  delineating  the  surfaces  of  countries,  as 
in  maps,  or  making  pictures  of  trees,  houses,  &c. 

Frank.  It  will  be  delightful  to  be  able  to  make 
pictures  of  any  thing,  just  as  I  please.  Shall  I  get 
some  paper  and  a  lead  pencil  ? 

Mother.  That  would  do,  but  I  prefer  your  using 
a  slate  and  pencil,  or  what  is  rather  better  still,  a 
black  board  and  chalk.  The  marks  then  show 
plainly,  and  rub  out  easily,  and  you  can  make  your 
map  large. 

You  may  begin  your  map  by  making  the  lines 
which  inclose  it.  Draw  them  twice  as  long  as  those 
on  the  first  map  ;  then  your  whole  map  and  each 
separate  state  will  appear  four  limes  as  large ;  if 


FOR  BEGINNERS, 


27 


you  should  increase  the  line  three  times,  the  whole 
surface  of  the  map  would  be  increased  nine  times, 
and  so  on.* 

After  fixing  the  size  of  your  map  by  drawing  the 
outside  lines,  next  draw  the  lines  which  cross  the 
map  from  top  to  bottom,  and  from  side  to  side. 
These  you  perceive  divide  the  map  into  squares, 
which  will  much  assist  you  to  keep  the  drawing  cor- 
rect, as  you  must  take  care  to  draw  every  part  in 
its  own  square.  Draw  the  outline  of  the  coast,  in 
the  first  place,  and  then  the  boundary  lines  of  the 
states ;  but  3/ou  need  not  set  down  their  names. 
These  I  expect  you  to  remember,  and  tell  me  as 
you  point  to  the  place  itself.  This  I  call  explaining 
your  map. 

Franlc.  Are  these  lines  which  cross  the  map 
made  merely  to  assist  me  in  drawing  my  map  cor- 
rectly ? 

Mother.  Oh,  no.  They  are  a  kind  of  lines  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  the  whole  science  of  geogra- 
phy. I  can  better  explain  them  to  you  when  we 
take  up  the  map  of  the  w^orld.  Those  drawn  from 
the  top  to  the  bottom  are  called  meridians,  or  lines 
of  longitude. — Those  from  side  to  side  'parallels  of 
latitude.  Just  enough  of  them  are  placed  on  this 
map  to  divide  it  into  squares  convenient  for  drawing  ; 
and  hereafter,  when  you  draw  the  oilier  maps,  as 
you  are  learning  them,  you  may  leave  off  a  part  of 
the  lines  of  latitude  and  longitude,  if  you  find  that 
there  are  so  many,  that  they  make  your  task  difficult. 

When  you  come  to  take  your  next  lesson,  you 
must  bring  your  map. 

*  That  is,  the  size  of  the  map  increases,  not  simply  as  the 
bounding  lines  increase,  but  as  the  squai'e  of  the  number  by  which 
these  Imes  are  increased. 

c  2 


28 


GEOGRAPHY 


LESSON  FIFTH. 

Frank.  I  have  brought  my  map.  I  assure  you, 
however,  that  I  have  labored  very  hard  to  make  it 
as  it  is. 

Mother,  Indeed,  Frank,  I  consider  it  very  pro- 
mising, for  a  first  effort.  You  have  left  off  the  names 
of  the  states,  as  I  directed,  and  you  must  now  ex- 
plain it,  that  is,  point  to  the  states  and  tell  me  their 
names  from  recollection. 

Very  well  explained.  The  way  in  which  I  shall 
now  direct  yoia  to  name  tliem  from  your  map,  is  that 
in  which  I  wish  you  to  repeat  them  from  memory, 
Avhen  you  come  for  your  next  lesson.* 

*  To  Insfructers.  A  difficulty  occurs  on  account  of  two  dif- 
ferent methods  of  instruction  being  contemplated  by  this  little 
work ;  one,  by  the  pupil's  studying  the  maps ;  the  other,  by  his 
drawing  them.  That  of  drawing  is  the  most  thorough  method  of 
impressing  the  subject  on  the  minds  of  the  pupils.  Indeed  it  is 
studying  the  maps  with  the  additional  advantage  of  that  perma- 
nency of  impression  which  must  be  made  by  their  dwelling  on 
each  part  long  enough  to  draw  it ;  and  it  has  also  the  benefit 
mentioned  in  the  text,  of  its  being  an  introduction  to  an  art  whose 
general  and  improved  cultivation,  is,  1  believe,  to  constitute  one  of 
the  greatest  irhprovements  in  education  which  remains  to  be  made. 
But  as  it  will  be  inconvenient  in  many  schools,  to  practise  the 
drawing  of  maps,  this  work  will,  therefore,  except  in  occasional 
passages,  proceed  with  reference  to  the  method  of  studying  them. 
The  instructions  given  in  this  way,  concerning  maps,  will  none  of 
them  be  useless  to  the  teacher,  whose  classes  draw  maps,  as  the 
pupils  want  them  in  acquiring  a  proper  method  of  explaining 
their  own.  In  either  case  of  teaching,  the  pupil  should  be  able, 
eventually,  to  describe  to  his  instructer  without  looking  at  any 
map.  Drawing  without  any  map  before  the  scholar,  is  a  method 
of  examining,  which  is  analogous  to  descriptions  given  in  words 
from  memory,  as  it  is  an  infallible  test  that  the  ideas  tlius  produced 
have  been  previously  received  into  the  mind. 


FOB  BEGINNERS 


29 


First,  then,  begin  at  the  north  east  corner  of  thej 
map,  and  learn  the  states  which  he  on  the  coast  of  J 
the  Atlantic.  Be  particular  to  learn  them  in  theif 
order.  The  first  you  perceive  is  Maine  ;  the  second 
is  New  Hampshire  ;  the  third,  Massachusetts  ;  the 
fourth,  Rhode  Island  ;  the  fifth,  Connecticut ;  the 
sixth,  New-York.  Proceed  and  learn  the  remain- 
der yourself.  £ 

Now  begin  at  Florida,  a^#l;race  westerly,  and  j 
tell  me  what  States  lie  on  tne  southern  coast.  ---^ 

Next  learn  the  states  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the"N 
Mississippi  River — beginning  south,  and  tracing^- 
north.    The  first  is  a  part  of  Louisiana,  the  second 
is  Mississippi.    Keep  on,  and  learn  the  remainder 
yourself. 

Now  begin  with  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  trace'\ 
from  west  to  east,  the  states  which  lie  on  the  north- 
ern boundary  of  the  U.  S.    These  are  eight,  inclu- 
ding the  Northwest  Territory.   Name  them  in  their 
order. 

What  are  the  three  states  wiiich  lie  on  the  north- 
ern shore  of  the  Ohio  River  ?  What  two  on  the  south- 
ern ?  There  are  six  states  which  lie  east  of  N.  Y. 
These  are  called  eastern  states,  and  also  New  Eng- 
land states  ;  which  are  they  ? 

As  you  now  know  the  names  of  the  States  from 
their  appearance  and  situation  on  the  map,  I  leave 
off  these  names  on  your  second  map,  and  here  di- 
vide the  United  States  into  what  are  called  its  grand 
divisions.  These  are — 1.  The  Eastern  or  New 
England  States,  Of  what  states  is  this  division 
composed?  2.  The  Middle  States — Wliat  states 
does  this  division  include  ?  3.  The  Southern  states 
— Which  are  they  ?  4.  The  Western  States — Which 
states  and  territories  are  they  1 

You  may  now  proceed  to  bound  each  state  of 
these  divisions  separately,  commencing  with  the 


30 


GEOGRAPHY 


Eastern  States,  in  the  same  manner  that  I  taught 
you  to  bound  the  parishes  of  our  town.  I  will  at 
.  first  assist  you,  by  bounding  some  of  them  for  you. 
Maine  is  bounded  N.  by  a  range  of  mountains  which 
separates  it  from  Lower  Canada  ;  E.  by  New  Bruns- 
wick, from  which  it  is  in  part  separated  by  the  river 
St.  Croix;  S,  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean  ;  W.  by  New- 
Hampshire. 

New  Hampshire  is  bounded  N,  by  Lower  Cana- 
da; E.  by  Maine  and  the  Atlantic  ;  S.  by  Massachu- 
setts  ;  and  W.  by  Connecticut  River,  which  separates 
it  from  Vermont. 

Massachusetts  is  bounded  N.  by  Vermont  and 
New  Hampshire  ;  E.  by  the  Atlantic  ;  S.  by  the  At- 
lantic,  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut ;  and  west  by 
N.  York.  I  have  shown  you  the  method  of  descri- 
bing boundaries,  and  you  must  hereafter  describe 
them  yourself;  but  to  accustom  you  to  the  use  of 
correct  terms,  I  will  sometimes,  especially  where 
there  is  any  difficulty,  describe  for  you. — Sometimes 
I  will  leave  blanks  for  you  to  supply  ;  which  you  can 
do,  by  looking  on  your  map.* 

Vermont  is  bounded  N.  by  Lower  Canada  ;  E.  by 

 river,  which  separates  it  from  the  state  of  ; 

S.  by  Massachusetts;  W.  by  the  state  of  N.  York, 

from  which  it  is  in  part  separated  by  lake  ■  

Connecticut  is  bounded  N.  by  Massachusetts  ;  E. 

by  ;  S.  by  sound  ;  and  W.  by  the  state  of 

 .    Rhode  Island  is  bounded  N.  and  E.  by  the 

state  of  ;  S.  by  ocean  ;  W.  by  . 

*  It  would  be  a  good  plan  for  children  who  read  in  classes,  to 
be  obliged,  after  sufficient  study,  to  read  these  passages  and  fill 
the  blanks  as  they  go  along,  on  penalty  of  going  down  in  their 
classes. 


FOR  BEGINNEHS. 


31 


LESSON  SIXTH. 

BOUNDARIES  OF  THE  SEVERAL  UNITED  STATES  CON- 
TINUED. 

Proceed  now  to  bound  the  Middle  States,  which 
are  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Del- 
aware. New  York  is  bounded  N.  by  Lower  Cana- 
da ;  E.  by  three  states ;  what  are  they  ?  S.  by  two 
.states  ;  name  them. — 'W.  and  North-west  by  Penn- 
sylvania, Lake  Erie,  Niagara  River,  Lake  Ontario, 
and  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  which  separates  it  from 
Upper  Canada. 

This  boundary  is  irregular,  and  difficult  to  de- 
scribe.  You  may  perceive  from  this  example  how 
essential  is  the  knowledge  of  maps  to  the  science  of 
geography.  Words  could  not  give  you  a  correct 
and  clear  idea  of  this  state,  or  of  any  other  of  very 
irregular  shape  ;  but  maps  may.  In  describing  the 
boundary  of  N.  York,  we  might  say,  it  is  bounded 
N.  by  the  Lakes  Erie,  Ontario,  ^md  the  St.  Law- 
rence River,  instead  of  giving  these  as  a  N.  West 
boundary.  You  will  find  many  such  cases,  where 
you  will  be  at  a  loss  ;  but  you  must  not  let  this  at  all 
discoura-ge  you.  The  greatest  geographers  find  the 
same  difficulty,  and  oft^n  do  not  exactly  agree  with 
each  other.  Describe  as  correctly  as  you  can,  and 
I  shall  be  satisfied. 

Give  the  boundary  of  N.  Jersey ;  of  Pennsylvania ; 
of  Delaware.  Next  describe  the  boundaries  of  the 
Southern  States,  which  are,  Maryland,  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida, 
and  Alabama.  I  think  you  will  find  no  difficulty  in 
describing  any  of  these  boundaries,  except  that  of 
S.  Carolina;  which  perhaps  cannot  be  better  de- 
scribed than  by  saying  it  is  bounded  N.  and  N.  E. 
by  North  Carolina  ;  S.  E.  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean ; 


32 


GEOGBAPHY 


S.  W.  by  Savannah  River,  which  separates  it  from 
Georgia. 

Now  give  a  description  of  the  boundaries  of  the 
Western  States  ;  which  are  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Mis- 
souri. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  give  a  good  description,  in 
words,  of  the  boundary  of  Louisiana.  Perhaps  we 
cannot  describe  it  better  than  to  say  it  is  bounded 
N.  by  the  Arkansaw  territory  ;  E.  by  the  Mississippi 
River,  which  separates  it  from  the  state  of  Mississip- 
pi, (except  a  portion  of  its  S.  E.  corner,  which  ex- 
tends east  of  the  river,  into  the  state  of  Mississippi :) 
S.  by  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  ;  W.  by  the  Sabine  River, 
which  separates  it  from  Mexico.  I  am  not  certain 
however,  that  this  is  the  best  possible  description. — 
Perhaps  if  you  consider  the  case  well  you  will  dis- 
cover a  better  one. 

You  may  now  give  the  boundaries  of  the  grand 
divisions.  I  think  you  will  find  no  difficulty  in 
bounding  the  Eastern,  Middle  and  Southern  States, 
but  your  maps  will  not  enable  you  to  give  the  Wes- 
tern  boundary  of  the  Western  States  ;  if  we  consid- 
er the  v/hole  of  the  possessions  of  the  United  States 
west  of  the  other  grand  divisions,  as  being  ranked 
under  the  general  head  of  Western  States. 


LE8SON  SEVENTH^ 
SITUATION  OF  THE  SEVERAL  UNITED  STATES. 

Mother.  1  shall  now  commence  a  different  meth- 
od of  questioning.  Instead  of  asking  you  how  a  state 
is  bounded,  I  shall  ask  you  where  it  is,  or  how  it  is 
situated.    Suppose  I  ask  you,  where  is  Connecticut  ? 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


33 


It  will  be  proper  in  this  case  for  you  to  tell  me  in 
what  direction  Connecticut  lies  from  the  States,  &;c. 
around  it ;  thus,  Connecticut  is  S.  of  Massachusetts  ; 
W.  of  Rhode  Island  ;  N.  of  Long  Island  Sound  ;  and 
E.  of  New  York.  This  method  of  telling  where  a 
place  is,  has  sometimes  an  advantage  over  that  of 
describing  its  boundaries,  and  the  same  minuteness 
and  exactness  are  not  required.  For  instance,  if  I 
ask  where  is  Florida,  you  might,  if  you  chose,  pro- 
ceed as  I  did  in  telling  you  where  Connecticut  is, 
and  mention  its  direction  from  all  the  places  around 
it,  but  you  may  also  merely  say  that  Florida  is  a  pe- 
ninsula at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  TJ.  States, 
which  is  telling  its  direction  only  from  one  impor- 
tant place,  and  it  gives  a  better  idea  of  its  situation 
than  would  be  given  by  a  description  of  the  boun- 
dary. 

Where  is  New  England  ?  New  England  is  the 
N.  Eastern  portion  of  the  United  States.  It  lies  S. 
of  Lower  Canada  ;  W.  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  ;  and 
E.  of  the  state  of  New- York. 

Where  are  the  Middle  States  ?  They  lie  South 
of  Canada  ;  W.  of  New  England  and  the  Atlantic ; 
N.  of  the  Southern  States  ;  and  E.  of  the  western. 

Where  are  the  Southern  States  ?  where  the  wes- 
tern ?  where  is  the  Arkansaw  Territory  ?  the  North- 
western Territory  ?  Michigan  Territory  ? 

Where  is  Vermont  ?  Ohio  ?  Georgia  ?  Delaware  ? 
Tennessee  ?  Rhode  Island  ?* 

In  these  last  questions  I  have  taken  you  from  one 
part  of  the  map  to  another,  without  any  regularity ; 
which  I  think  an  excellent  exercise,  after  you  have 
once  learned  your  lessons  in  a  regular  way. 

I  will  now  give  you  another  exercise  on  this  plan, 

*  These  questions  are  merely  intended  as  specimens  of  the 
mode  cf  quesrioning.  The  teacher  can  supply  as  many  of  the 
kind  as  he  chooses. 


34  GEOGBAPHY 

which  you  will  find  easy,  as  you  have  learned  tho- 
roughly thus  far.  In  what  direction  is  Connecticut 
from  Vermont  ?  Virginia  from  Georgia  ?  North  Car- 
olina  from  Pennsylvania  ?  Alabama  from  Michigan 
Territc^y :    Ohio  from  Connecticut  ? 


LESSON  EIGHTH. 

EIVERS  AND  MOUNTAINS. 

We  will  here  commence  with  the  rivers  and 
mountainft}which,  although  they  are  unlike,  are  yet 
quite  nearl^  related. 

FranJc.  1  have  often  stood  on  the  bank  of  our 
pleasant  brook,  and  wondered  to  see  that,  although 
the  ground  appears  perfectly  level,  it  winds  and 
glides  swiftly  along  the  meadow,  like  a  living  crea- 
ture. But  yet  this  water,  which  runs  so  fast  while 
in  the  brook,  if  I  take  it  out  into  a  cup,  is  as  still  as 
any  other. 

Mother.  But  suppose  you  were  to  pour  the  water 
on  the  side  of  a  hill,  it  would  run  again  ;  and  al- 
though there  were  some  little  spots  where  the  side 
hill  was  level,  or  even  a  little  ascending,  still  the 
force  it  would  have  after  it  got  in  motion,  would  en- 
able it  to  keep  running.  On  the  s^me  principle, 
the  wateon  brooks  and  rivers  runiabecause  it  goes 
down  hill.^  Rivers  take  their  rise  in  high  lands  and 
flow  towards  the  lower  parts  ;  and  although  the  coun- 
try may  appear  level  to  the  eye  where  there  is  a  run- 
ning stream,  and  indeed,  in  some  small  parts,  may 
be  level,  or  a  little  ascending,  yet^ere  is  always  a 
general  descent  towards  that  quarter  to  which  the 
water  goe^  Travellers,  who  are  going  up  a  stream, 
know  that  they  shall  be  obliged  to  travel  up  hill  more 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


35 


than  down.  Of  course,  the  country  where  a  river 
takes  its  rise,  must  be  higher  than  that  through 
which  it  flowsT"  It  is  generally  the  case,  that  the 
longer  the  river,  the  higher  tlip  land  from  which  it 
begins  its  course  ;  so  that  th^reatest  risers  usually 
take  their  rise  in  the  highest %ountains/^^ 

Running  strev  as  generally  issue  fr6m  springs 
among  mountains.  Where  they  begin  their  course, 
they  are  mere  rifts  )r  brooks ;  but  when  many  of 
them  meet,  their  united  waters  swell  tq,a  river.  A 
river  continues  to  flow  until  it  reache^he  ocean,  or 
some  large  division  of  water^here  it  is^  said  to  dis- 
charge  its  waters,  and  the  ptace  where  it  meets  the 
sea,  is  called  its  mouth.  ^The  course  of  a  river  is 
the  same  as  the  point  of%ompass  towards  which  it 
flows r  vThus  Connecticut  River,  which  comes  from 
the  north,  and  runs  towards  the  south,  is  said  to  run 
a  southerly  course.  Young  persons  are  sometimes 
5^t  a  loss  on  the  subject,:  because  a  wind  that  comes 
from  the  north,  and  blowS'towards  the  south,  is  called 
a  north  wind.*^- 

If  no  mountains  were  delineated  on  our  map,  you 
might  now  foriiL,a  judgment  where  the  principal 
range  must  be^rom  noticing  where  the  greatest 
number  of  rivers  take  their  riseV 

JVI^untains,  as  you  know,  arorlarge  elevations  of 
iand,;4)at  they  sometimes  rise  to  a  height  of  which, 
in  this  country,  we  have  little  idea.  They  gener- 
ally  range  along  through  a  considerable  extent  of 
country  in  chains  or  ridges,  but  they  are  sometimes 
found  single. 

The,  principal  range  of  mountains  in  the  United 
States.is  the  Apalachian!!  This  traverses  nearly 
their  whole  extent ;  or,  as^the  White  Mountains  in 
New  Hampshire,  and  the  Green  Mountains  in  Ver- 
mont are  considered  as  branches  of  the  grand  Apa- 


36 


GEOGRAPHY 


kchian  chain,  it  may  be  considered  as  traversing  the 
whole  extent  of  the  United  States,  from  north-east 
to  south-west,  keeping  nearly  parallel  to  the  sea 
coast,  and  giving  rise  to  the  streams  which  flow  south 
and  south-easterly  into  the  Atlantic,  and  also  to  those 
"vdiich  flow  south-westerly  into  the  Mississippi. 
i|T}iere  are  several  ridges  belonging  to  this  chain, 
tli^^rincipal  of  which  is  the  Allegany,  |and  on  that 
account  this  name  is  sometimes  given  to  the  whole 
chain.  The  Allegany  mountains  I  want  you  to  be 
very  particular  in  remembering,  for  reasons  which 
I  shall  afterwards  explain.  They  ran  through  Vir- 
ginia and  Pennsylvania,  and  are  continued  by  a  range 
of  highlands,  till  they  terminate  Jp  the  Catskill 
mountains,  west  of  Hudson  River.  ^They  are  nine 
hundred  miles  in  length.  |  * 

Frank.  Nine  hundrea  miles !  That  is  a  great 
ways.  How  many  days  would  it  take  us  to  travel 
nine  hundred  miles  ? 

Mother.  Why,  if  we  should  travel  over  a  moun- 
tainous country,  we  must  of  necessity  go  rather  slow- 
ly. ^Jf  we  travelled  thirty-three  miles  and  one  third 
in  a  day,  that  would  be  one  hundred  miles  in  three 
dayjj^  and  I  think  you  can  now  reckon  yourself  how 
many  days  it  would  take  us  to  travel  nine  hundred. 

The  other  most  remarkable  ridges  which  com- 
pose the  great  Apalachian  chain,  are  the  Green 
Mountains,  which  are  principally  in  Vermont,  but 
which  are  considered  as  commencing  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  Connecticut.  %^il^J  ^re  about  one  third 
as  long  as  the  Allegany  cK&,|-how  long  is  that  ? 

frhe  White  Mountains  are'^mostly  in  New  Hamp- 
shireT^^v  What  two  ranges  of  mountains  unite  with 
the  Ali4gany  from  Tennessee  ?  What  ridge  between 
it  and  the  sea  coast,  in  Virginia  ? 

There  is  another  circumstance  besides  the  length 
of  the  chain,  which  I  wish  you  to  notice,  in  speak- 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


37 


ing  of  mountains.    This  is  the  height  to  which  they 
rise.  Their  highest  points  are  called  peaks.vMounj^pi^ 
Washington  is  the  highest  peak  in  the  UnitecfMates,  / 
and  is  a  part  of  the  White  Mountains.    It  is  6,63C* 
feet  in  height.    This  is  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter. 

Frank.  That  must  be  very  high  :  the  mountain 
north-east  of  us,  my  father  said  was  six  hundred  feet 
high.  I  was  so  fatigued  in  climbing  it,  that  I 
thought  I  should  never  reach  the  top.  But  this 
Mount  Washington  is  a  great  deal  higher. 

Mother.  There  is  eleven  times  six  hundred  in 
six  thousand  six  hundred  ;  so  that  it  would  take  elev- 
en such  mountains  as  ours,  one  piled  upon  the  other, 
to  make  a  mountain  as  high  as  Mount  Washington, 
and  that  is  not  half  as  high  as  some  mountains  in  the 
world. 

The  other  principal  peaks  in  the  United  States, 
are  Mansfield,  in  the  north-west  part  of  Vermont ; 
Saddle  Mountain,  in  the  north-west  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts  ;  Round  Top,  among  the  Catskill  moun- 
tains ;  and  Table  Mountain,  in  the  north-west  corner 
of  South  Carolina.  These  are  all  about  four  thou- 
sand  feet  high. 

When  I  direct  you  to  describe  the  situation  of  a 
chain  of  mountains,  I  expect  you  to  tell  in  what  di- 
rection it  extends  ;  what  countries  or  states  it  traver- 
ses, and  what  parts  of  those  countries ;  and  when 
you  wish  to  be  very  particular,  you  may  tell  to  what 
rivers  it  gives  rise.  For  example,  the  Green  Moun- 
tains  extend  through  the  middle  of  Vermont,  from 
north  to  south,  and  give  rise  to  many  small  rivers  : 
-a  part  of  which  flow  E.  into  Connecticut  River,  and 
a  part  flow  W.  into  Lake  Champlain. 

Now  attempt  a  more  particular  description  of  the 
Apalachian  chain. 


38 


GEOGRAPHY 


LESSON  NINTH. 

RIVERS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Mother.  To  describe  a  river,  first  observe  where 
it  rises,  then  what  course  it  runs,  and  lastly,  where 
it  discharges  its  waters.  Take  notice  if  it  separates 
states,  or  runs  through  different  ones. 

Penobscot  river  rises  in  the  northern  part  of  Maine, 
runs  southerly,  and  flows  into  the  Atlantic.  De- 
scribe the  Kennebeck. 

The  Merrimack  rises  in  the  White  Mountains 
near  the  centre  of  N.  Hampshire,  runs  S.  into  Mas- 
sachusetts, then  changes  its  course,  runs  E.  and 
discharges  its  waters  into  the  Atlantic. 

The  Connecticut,  which  you  see  is  the  largest 
river  in  New  England,  ri^es  in  the  mountains  be- 
tween Canada  and  the  United  States,  runs  S.,  sepa- 
rates the  states  of   and  flows  through  the 

states  of  ■  and  — — ,  and  falls  into  Long  Island 

Sound. 

Hudson  River  rises  near  Lake  ,  in  the  state 

of  ,  runs  S.  and  empties  into  the  Ocean,  at  the 

west  end  of  sound.    Delaware  River  rises  in 

the  southern  part  of  N.  York,  runs  S.  and  separates 

 from  ,  and  falls  into  Bay.    The  Sus- 

quehannah  rises  in  the  southern  part  of  N.  York, 
runs  a  southerly  course  through  Pennsylvania,  and 
falls  into  the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  state  of  Maryland. 

These  descriptions,  although  as  accurate  as  any 
short  description  that  can  be  given,  are  yet,  as  you 
will  perceive  by  comparing  them  with  your  maps, 
very  incomplete  ;  and  this  must  be  the  case,  as  I  be- 
fore mentioned,  with  all  attempts  to  describe  such 
subjects  in  words ;  and  shows  you  the  necessity  of 
understanding  your  maps  if  you  would  obtain  an  ac 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


39 


curate  knowledge  of  geography.  To  explain  this 
more  clearly,  suppose  you  take  the  description  we 
have  given  of  the  Susquehannah  River,  and  compare 
it  with  your  map.  We  said  it  ran  a  southerly  course 
through  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  Now  if  you 
were  to  draw  the  river  from  this  description,  you 
would  naturally  make  a  straight  line  from  north  to 
south  ;  but  how  very  different  would  that  be  from  the 
real  course  of  this  river.  If  we  should  add  to  our 
description  that  it  is  a  crooked  river,  this  would  not 
remedy  the  difficulty,  because  we  should  not  then 
know  whether  the  bends  were  large  or  small  ones, 
or  what  were  their  directions.  If  we  should  still  go 
on  endeavoring  to  mend  our  description  by  giving 
an  account  of  all  the  particular  bends  of  the  river,  it 
would  make  it  very  long,  and  persons  would  be  apt 
to  find  themselves  confused  with  many  particulars, 
and  thus  not  get  any  clear  ideas.  Besides,  you  per- 
ceive that  by  looking  at  the  delineation  of  the  river 
on  the  map,  you  not  only  see  all  these  particulars  at 
a  glance  of  the  eye,  but  many  more ;  such  as  whe- 
ther it  is  in  the  eastern,  or  western,  or  the  middle 
part  of  the  state,  &c. 

These  remarks,  although  applied  to  the  Susque- 
hannah, are  applicable  to  all  others.  You  will,  there- 
fore, now  attend  to  your  maps  patiently  and  diligent- 
ly, and  not  be  discouraged  if  you  cannot  always 
make  your  descriptions  exactly  to  please  you,  as  you 
see  that  I  am  sometimes  troubled  in  the  same  way 
myself.  But  we  must  learn  to  discourse  about  the 
things  we  know.  The  only  way  is  to  learn  things 
as  they  are,  then  describe  them  as  well  as  the  na- 
ture of  the  subject,  and  our  own  powers  will  admit. 

I  have  now  shown  you  the  general  manner  of  de- 
scribing rivers.    There  are,  however,  other  circum- 
stances which  you  can,  if  you  choose,  add  to  your 
description,  such  as  the  names  of  the  branches,  the 
D  2 


40 


GEOGRAPHY 


directions  in  which  they  flow  :  and  also  where  they 
separate  states,  in  what  directions  the  states  lie,  &c. 

The  Potomac  rises  in  the  Allegany  mountains, 
runs  a  north-easterly  course,  receives  the  Shenan- 
doah from  the  south,  passes  through  the  Blue  Ridge, 
changes  its  course  and  flows  south-easterly  into 
Chesapeake  Bay,  separating  Maryland  on  the  north 
from  Virginia  on  the  south.  Describe  the  James 
River — the  Roanoke,  the  Cape  Fear — Santee — Pe- 
dee — Savannah — Altamaha — St.  Mary's — Apalach- 
icola. 

The  Mobile  is  formed  by  the  union  or  junction  of 
two  large  streams,  the  Alabama,  which  runs  south- 
west, and  the  Tombigbee,  which  runs  south, — it 
then  flows  south,  and  falls  into  Mobile  Bay.  De- 
scribe Pearl  River. 

The  great  Mississippi,  the  majestic  "  Father  of 
Rivers,"  (as  the  name  signifies  in  the  language  of 
the  Indians,  who  formerly  inhabited  its  shores,)  was 
the  boundary  of  the  United  States,  before  the  large 
country  west  of  it  was  purchased  from  France.  It 
takes  its  rise  in  a  number  of  small  lakes  west  of  Lake 
Superior ;  flows  south,  and  discharges  its  waters  in- 
to the  Gulf  of  ;  on  its  eastern  shore  are  the 

North-West  Territory,  and  the  states  of  and 

•  ;  on  its  western  shore  is  the  state  of  Louisiana, 

the  Territory  of  Arkansaw,  state  of  Missouri,  and 
Missouri  Territory,  which  extends  far  to  the  west. 
Name  the  principal  rivers  which  it  receives  from  the 
east.— Those  from  the  west. — Give  a  particular  de- 
scription  of  the  Ohio  River — Tennessee — Cumber- 
land— Wabash — Kaskaskias  —  Illinois — Wisconsin 
—St,  Lawrence, 


\ 


FOR  BEGINNERS.  41 

liESSON  TENTH. 

RIVERS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  CONTINUED. 

Mother.  For  your  lesson  to-day,  I  shall  give  you 
another  exercise  on  the  rivers  of  the  United  States. 
I  wish  to  familiarize  you  with  the  subject,  and  accus- 
tom you  to  different  modes  of  expression.  If  3^ou  un- 
derstand the  things  which  you  study,  you  will  find  it 
as  easy  to  communicate  your  knowledge  in  one  man- 
ner as  another. 

What  are  the  principal  rivers  of  Maine  ?  Of  N. 
Hampshire  ?  Here  you  might  hesitate,  because  the 
Connecticut  and  Merrimack  are  in  other  states  like- 
wise, but  their  being  the  principal  rivers  in  other 
states,  does  not  make  them  the  less  so  in  this. — 
What  are  the  principal  rivers  of  Massachusetts  ? 
Connecticut?  Vermont?  New- York?  Pennsylvania? 
Virginia  ?  N.  Carolina  ?  S.  Carolina  ?  Georgia  ? 

What  state  is  watered  by  the  Mobile  and  its 
branches  ?  What  states  are  watered  by  the  northern 
branches  of  the  Ohio  ?  What  state  is  watered  by  the 
Tennessee  and  Cumberland  ?  What  are  the  princi- 
pal rivers  of  Kentucky  ?  Ohio  ?  Missouri  ?  Missis- 
sippi ? 

Where  is  the  Penobscot  River  ?  If  I  put  the  ques- 
tion in  this  form,  you  may  say  it  is  in  Maine.  Where 

is  the  Connecticut  ?    It  forms  the  boundary  of  

and  ,  runs  through  the  states  of  ,  and  dis- 
charges its  waters  into  sound.    Where  is  the 

Savannah  River  ? 

Now  draw  the  second  map  of  the  United  States, 
placing  the  mountains  and  rivers  upon  it,  observing 
their  direction  from  the  crossing  lines,  as  I  instruc 
ted  you  in  a  former  lesson.  You  need  not  set  down 
their  names,  but  you  may  point  to  the  rivers,  tell 
their  names,  and  describe  their  course  ;  and  to  the 


42 


GEOGRAPHY 


mountains,  and  tell  in  what  direction  they  extend, 
what  states  or  countries  they  traverse  ;  their  length, 
height,  and  principal  peaks.  When  you  wish  to  be 
very  particular,  you  may  mention  to  what  rivers  they 
give  rise. 

You  have  now  described  all  the  largest  rivers  of 
the  United  States,  but  you  must  recollect  that  our 
map  is  very  small,  and  of  course  that  but  few  of  the 
most  important  objects  can  be  placed  upon  it.  Be- 
sides those  delineated,  there  are  hundreds  of  other 
very  considerable  rivers  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  lakes,  or  the  large 
rivers  ;  and  thousands  of  beautiful  streams,  and  mil- 
lions of  brooks,  and  rills,  which  not  only  afford 
seats  for  manufactories  and  mills,  but  give  beauty 
to  the  landscape,  and  fertility  to  the  soil.  No  doubt 
they  are  of  as  much  profit  and  pleasure  to  the  in- 
habitants who  live  upon  their  banks,  as  the  stream 
v/hich  flows  through  our  meadows  is  to  us ;  and  I 
dare  say  the  children  near  them,  delight  to  make 
them  the  seat  of  their  sports,  as  much  as  you  do  to 
play  about  our  pleasant  brook. 

Now  if  you  understand  a  map,  you  will  take  plea- 
sure in  extending  the  knowledge  which  you  have 
derived  from  these  little  ones,  by  examining  those 
which  are  larger. 


LESSON  ELEVENTH. 

COMPARATIVE  LENGTH  OF  THE  RIVERS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

Frank.  How  very  long  some  of  these  rivers  must 
be.    I  can  see  by  the  map,  that  many  of  them  are 


FOR  BEGI^-^'ERS 


43 


much  longer  than  the  Connecticut  River,  and  the 
length  of  that  is  so  great,  that  when  we  travelled 
along  its  banks  from  Long  Island  Sound,  to  visit  our 
friends  in  the  north  of  Vermont,  we  were  several 
days  in  making  our  journey. 

Mother.  Yes.  We  travelled  fifty  miles  a  day, 
and  if  we  had  gone  quite  from  its  mouth  to  its 
source,  it  would  have  taken  us  eight  days  to  perform 
our  journey,  for  this  river  is  400  miles  in  length,* 
and  that,  you  know,  is  eight  times  fifty  miles.  I 
have  prepared  your  maps  in  a  manner  to  show  you 
the  length  of  the  other  rivers  compared  vnxh  Con- 
necticut River.  We  will  call  this  our  unit  or  mea- 
sure  river,  and  mark  it  1.  All  other  rivers  of  the 
same  length  are  marked  1  also.  If  they  are  a  little 
more,  I  have  annexed  to  the  figure,  this  mark,  {-\—) 
which  signifies  plus,  or  more — if  a  Uttle  less,  this 
mark,  ( — )  which  signifies  minus,  or  less. 

If  a  river  is  twice  the  length  of  the  Connecticut, 
it  is  marked  2,  if  three  times,  3,  <^c. — Those  less 
are  marked  i  i  ^,  &c.,  wliich  signifies  that  it  would 
take  two,  three,  or  four  of  such  rivers  to  make  one 
as  long  as  the  Connecticut. 

By  this  method  you  can  compare  the  length  of 
any  two  rivers  together.  Suppose  you  find  one 
marked  2,  and  another  4,  you  "know  that  the  one 
marked  4,  is  twice  the  size  of  that  marked  2. 
1  ou  would  know  that  a  river  marked  },  was  only 
half  as  long  as  one  marked^,  because  it  would  take 
6  of  the  first  to  make  one  as  long  as  the  Connecti- 
cut, but  only  3  of  the  last. 

If  you  wish  to  know  all  the  rivers  which  are  of 

*  Geographers  give  the  length  of  this  river  410  miles,  but  as  it 
is  on  some  accoimts,  a  better  river  to  use  as  a  measure,  than  any 
other  in  the  United  States,  its  length  is  assumed  as  400,  for  the 
convenience  of  reckoning. 


44 


GEOGRAPHY 


the  same  length,  these  numbers  show  you ;  as  all 
marked  alike,  are  alike  in  length. 

You  can  also  determine  the  real  length  of  any 
river ;  for  you  can  tell  easily  what  twice  or  three 
times  400  is,  or  how  much  is  ^,  or  of  that  number ; 
and  as  you  have  been  very  good  to  learn  Arithmetic, 
I  think  you  can  make  me  a  table  of  the  real  length 
of  the  rivers,  and  it  will  be  an  excellent  exercise  in 
arithmetic,  as  well  as  in  geography.  In  making  it, 
set  down  the  largest  rivers  first,  and  so  on,  in  their 
order.  If,  however,  you  do  not  understand  enough 
of  arithmetic,  you  must  apply  yourself  with  great 
diligence  to  that  very  important  study,  and  you  will 
then  soon  be  able  to  accomplish  what  I  desire. 

Now  commence  with  Maine,  and  trace  the  coast 
once  more  for  the  rivers,  so  as  to  learn  their  compa- 
rative length.  How  do  those  rivers  of  the  U.  States, 
whose  mouths  are  east  and  north  of  Connecticut 
River,  compare  with  it  in  size?  Those  whose 
mouths  are  between  Connecticut  River  and  Chesa- 
peake Bay?  Those  which  fall  into  Chesapeake 
Bay  ?  Those  south  of  Chesapeake  Bay  ?  Those 
which  fall  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico  ?  The  eastern 
branches  of  the  Mississippi  ?  The  western  ?  The 
branches  of  the  Ohio  ?    Of  the  St.  Lawrence  ? 


LESSON  TWELFTH. 

LAKES  AND  ISLANDS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES-BRITISH 
PROVINCES  IN  AMERICA. 

Mother,  The  chain  of  lakes  delineated  on  this 
map,  are  the  most  remarkable  of  any  in  the  worfd. 
Lake  Superior,  you  perceive,  is  the  largest,  and  the 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


45 


most  northerly.  Which  two  are  the  next  ?  By 
what  strait  is  Lake  Superior  connected  with  Lake 
Huron  ?  Lake  Huron  with  Lake  Michigan  ?  Lake 
Huron  with  Lake  St.  Clair  ?  Lake  St.  Clair  with 
Lake  Erie  ?  Lake  Erie  with  Lake  Ontario  ?  By 
what  great  river  does  Lake  Ontario  communicate 
with  the  ocean  ? 

When  a  river  takes  its  rise  in  a  lake,  or  flows 
from  it,  the  lake  is  said  to  be  its  head  waters,  and 
the  river  is  said  to  be  the  outlet  of  the  Lake.  Lake 
Superior  is  the  head  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
y  The  St.  Lawrence  is  the  outlet  of  the  whole  great 
chain  of  Lakes. 

Where  is  Lake  Champlain  ?    What  small  lake 
communicates  with  it  on  the  S.  W.  ? 
Where  is  Lake  Ponchartrain  ? 
Now  give  me  a  description  of  the  great  chain  of 
lakes,  beginning  with  Lake  Superior — tell  their 
names,  and  the  straits  which  connect  them. 

What  island  lies  S.  of  Connecticut?  What  isl- 
ands lie  S.  E.  of  Massachusetts  ?  The  island  on 
which  Newport  is  situated,  is  called  Rhode  Island, 
and  gives  name  to  the  state.  The  islands  along  the 
coast  of  North  Carolina  are  mere  sand-banks,  and 
are  a  disadvantage  to  the  state,  because  ships  can- 
not approach  the  coast.  The  small  islands  along 
the  coast  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  are  very 
fertile  ;  they  produce  that  kind  of  cotton  called  Sea 
Island  cotton,  which  has  been  esteemed  the  best  in 
the  world. 

Although  it  is  out  of  place  in  my  little  plan  of  in- 
struction, I  will  here  give  you  some  questions  on  the 
countries  north  of  the  United  States ;  because  they 
are  better  answered  from  this  map,  than  any  other 
in  my  collection.  They  are  so  near  to  us,  that  we 
ought  to  be  well  acquainted  with  their  geography. 

Lower  Canada  is  the  most  important  of  these 


46 


GEOGRAPHY 


countries.  Describe  its  situation.  The  southern 
part  of  Upper  Canada  is  a  peninsula.  What  waters 
nearly  enclose  it  ?  Describe  Nova  Scotia,  as  to  its 
form  and  situation.    Where  is  New  Brunswick  ? 

A  part  of  the  large  island  ot  Newfoundland,  and 
also  of  the  island  of  Anticosti,  is  on  this  map.  You 
can  better  learn  their  situation  from  the  map  of  the 
world.  What  large  Gulf  hes  between  the  island  of 
Newfoundland  and  New  Brunswick  ?  What  large 
bay  lies  between  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick  ? 
What  are  the  principal  northern  branches  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  ?    The  principal  southern  ? 


LESSON  THIRTEENTH. 

PART  I. 

PRINCIPAL  CITIES  AND  TOWNS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  * 

Mother,  I  now  give  you  another  map  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  from  which  you  are  to  learn  the  situation 
of  the  principal  cities  and  towns. 

A  city  is  a  large  collection  of  houses,  and  inhabit- 
ants. A  single  city  has  often  more  people,  than  a 
large  tract  of  country.  For  instance,  the  city  of 
New  York,  which  is  but  about  three  miles  long, 
contains  more  inhabitants,  than  the  whole  state  of 
Alabama,  and  as  human  beings  are  more  important 
than  mere  uninhabited  land,  the  city  of  New  York 
is  a  more  important  subject  of  study  for  us  than 
the  state  of  Alabama  ;  particularly  as  we  are  not  in- 
habitants of  that  state. 

Cities  are  important  also  on  account  of  their  being 
the  places  where  the  legislatures  of  the  states,  or 


*  See  third  Map 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


47 


countries  meet  to  make  the  laws,  by  which  the  peo- 
ple are  governed.  A  city  where  the  legislature  thus 
meets,  is  called  the  metropolis  or  capital  of  the  state 
or  country  for  which  the  laws  are  there  made.  On 
your  map  the  capitals  are  distinguished  thus,  (□). 

In  countries  governed  by  a  king  or  emperor,  the 
capital  is  generally  the  largest  city  in  the  country  ; 
because  the  largest  cities  afford  the  most  sources  of 
amusement.  But  in  our  happy  country,  we  choose 
at  our  elections,  ov  freemen's  meetings,  persons  from 
among  ourselves,  who  will  make  and  execute  such^ 
iaws  as  will  be  for  our  good,  and  who  are  more  de-  " 
sirous  to  find  a  convenient  place  to  assemble,  than 
one  where  they  can  be  amused.  Hence  the  capitals 
of  the  states  are  generally  near  the  centres  ;  and  are 
not  necessarily  the  largest  cities.  Sometimes  the 
legislature  of  a  state  assembles  alternately  in  two 
different  places.  In  that  case  these  two  places  are 
both  capitals.  In  Connecticut  the  legislature  meets 
in  alternate  years  at  New  Haven,  and  Hartford. 

As  a  number  of  families  make  a  town,  a  number 
of  towns  a  county,  and  a  number  of  counties  a  state  ; 
so,  in  our  country,  a  number  of  states  form  one  gene- 
ral government,  and  there  is  a  place  where  the  le- 
gislature (called  the  Congress,)  meets,  to  make  laws 
for  the  whole  United  States. 

Besides  private  dwellings,  cities  contain  public 
buildings,  for  the  purposes  of  government,  religious 
worship,  &c.  Capitals  contain  large  buildings, 
where  the  legislatures  meet.  The  building  called 
the  capitol,  is  the  place  in  Washington  used  for  this 
purpose,  by  Congress.  The  legislatures  of  the  sev- 
eral states,  meet  in  buildings,  called  state-houses. 
You  have  seen  the  state-house  at  Hartford,  and  the 
one  in  Albany. 

E 


48 


GEOGRAPHY 


-;5 

-1 

1 

State  House  at  Hartford 


New-York  is  the  largest  city  in  the  United  States. 
It  contains  167,000  inhabitants,  which  is  i  of  a 
milhon.  That  is  a  great  number.  When  Mr.  S. 
preached  here,  there  were  1000  people  collected 
to  hear  him.  They  could  not  all  get  into  the  meet- 
ing house,  but  stood  about  the  doors  and  windows, 
and  when  they  dispersed,  the  village  seemed  alive 
with  them.  It  would  take  nearly  170  times  as  ma- 
ny to  make  them  equal  in  number  to  the  inhabitants 
of  New- York.  You  have  been  in  Troy  and  in  Hart- 
ford. It  would  take  20  cities  of  the  size  of  either 
of  these,  to  make  one  as  large  as  New-York. 

You  may  now  merely  learn  the  names,  and 
situations  of  the  cities  and  towns.  I  will  soon  give 
you  a  table  from  v/hich  you  will  learn  their  compara- 
tive sizes. 

What  is  the  capital  of  Maine  ?  Portland,  in  the 
south  part  of  the  state,  on  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic. 
When  you  study  a  large  map,  you  will  tind  that  Port- 
land  is  situated  on  Casco  Bay,  which  is  too  small  to 
be  distinguished  on  this  map.    But  Casco  Bay,  be- 


FOR  BEGINNERS.  49 

ing  a  part  of  the  Atlantic,  the  answer  dictated  is  not 
improper.    Such  cases  often  occur. 

What  is  the  capital  of  New-Hampshire  ?  Con- 
cord, on  the  Merrimack  River.   What  is  the  capital 
of  Massachusetts  1    Boston,  in  the  east  part  of  the 
1  state,  on  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic.    What  are  the 
papitals  of  Connecticut  ?    This  state  has  two  capi-  ^ 

tals  ;  ,  on  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic,  and  , 

on  river.    In  the  same  manner  learn  the  capi- 
tals of  each  state.  , 

Next  learn  the  situation  of  the  other  towns  an^ 
'cities  in  each  stfite.  What  are  the  principal  towns 
in  Maine,  besides  Portland,  the  capital  ?  They  q.re 
Machias,  Eastport  and  Castine,  on  the  waters  of  the 
Atlantic,  Bangor,  on  the  Penobscot  River,  and  Bruns- 
wick on  the  Androscoggin, 


LESSON  THIRTEENTH. 
PART  II. 

Motlier.  Having  no  w  learned  the  cities  and  towns 
of  each  state  in  this  manner,  I  shall  give  a  table  of 
the  largest  in  the  United  States  compared  with  New 
York.  From  this  table  you  can  readily  calculate 
the  number  of  inhabitants.  But  the  inhabitants  are 
not  generally  numbered  oftener  than  once  in  ten 
years,  and  it  is  now  nine  years  since  the  census,  (as 
this  numbering  is  called,)  was  taken,  and  many  of 
these  places  have  increased  very  much  in  their  pop- 
ulation. 


FOR 

In  the  United  States,  great  attention  is  pti; 
education  of  youth.    You  know  that  with 
are  several  school  houses  in  every  town  ; 
that  has  never  been  at  school,  or  that  is 
how  to  read  and  write,  is  considered  as  a 
and  pitiful  spectacle. 

Frank.  I  have  often  thought  it  was  very 
our  fathers  to  take  so  much  care  to  have  schoc 
es  and  school  teachers  for  us  children,  who 
nothing  for  ourselves  ;  and  that  we  ought  to  t 
diligent.    My  father  often  goes  in  the  evening  lo 
school  meetings,  although  he  is  much  fatigued.  Do 
all  the  "men  in  the  town  meet  ? 

Mother.  Not  at  the  same  school  meeting.  Our 
towns  in  New  England,  as  we  have  seen  in  our  little 
maps,  are  divided  into  parishes,  and  the  parishes  are 
divided  into  school  districts,  each  of  which  has  a 
school  house,  and  hires  a  man  to  keep  school  in  the 
winter,  and  a  woman  in  the  summer.  I  am  told 
that  in  some  schools  they  are  changing  this  system," 
considering  it  important  to  have  the  same  person 
keep  the  school  the  whole  year.  The  western  states, 
which  have  been  settled  from  New  England,  have 
much  the  same  customs  with  regard  to  education  ; 
but  it  is  not  so  much  attended  to  in  other  parts  of 
the  United  States. 

Frank.  Is  a  college  much  larger  than  our  academy 
at  C. ;  and  do  they  have  academies  in  every  town  ? 

Mother.  Academies  are  quite  frequent,  but  by 
no  means  in  every  town.  Seminaries  of  a  higher 
grade  than  common  schools,  are  also  kept  in  many 
places  for  girls.  As  for  colleges,  they  are  generally 
twice  or  three  times  the  length  of  our  academy, 
which  is  fifty  feet  long,  and  in  some  there  are  sev- 
eral buildings,  as  you  see  in  this  drawing  of  Yale 
College  at  New  Haven. 

E  2 


GEOGRAPHY 


ViCw  of  Yale  College, 


There  is  no  other  college,  however,  in  the  United 
States  so  important,  except  Harvard  College,  at  Cam- 
bridge near  Boston. 

Frank.  But  why  is  a  college  a  better  place  to  get 
an  education,  than  an  academy  ? 

Mother.  Colleges  are  suitable  for  young  men, 
academies  for  boys.  Boys  want  to  be  watched  over 
by  a  master  ;  young  men  generally  have  steadiness 
enough  to  keep  themselves  employed,  and  they  want 
retired  rooms  to  study  their  lessons,  which  often  re- 
late to  difficult  subjects,  and  require  hard  thinking. 
Hence  the  buildings  must  be  large,  as  only  two  or 
three  can  occupy  the  same  room,  and  the  different 
classes  also  go  to  separate  rooms  to  recite,  and  have 
different  teachers.  So  that  instead  of  one  or  two 
teachers,  as  they  have  in  our  academy,  they  have 
eight  or  ten  in  a  college,  who  are  called  professors 
or  tutors.  At  Cambridge  they  have  twenty,  and  at 
Yale  College  they  have  nearly  as  many.  These 
teachers  do  not  hear  classes  all  the  day,  but  they 
read  a  great  many  books  on  the  subjects  which  they 
teach,  so  that  when  they  do  instruct,  they  can  ex.- 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


53 


plain  the  subjects  which  they  study,  to  the  young 
gentlemen. 

Frank,  Biat  where  do  they  get  their  books  ? 

Mother.  They  have  great  collections  of  books  in 
the  libraries,  with  which  each  college  is  furnished. 
You  would  be  astonished  to  see  the  library  at  Cam- 
bridge. We  have  in  our  collection  five  hundred 
books,  which  our  neighbors  think  is  quite  large  ; 
but  there  they  have  fifty  times  five  hundred,  that  is, 
twenty. five  thousand.  This  is,  however,  a  larger  li- 
brary than  is  in  any  other  college  in  the  U.  States. 
Colleges  are  also  furnished  with  many  things  which 
the  professors  shov/  the  young  gentlemen,  to  make 
them  understand  their  studies  ;  as,  for  instance,  air 
pumps  and  electrical  machines.  These  things  are 
called  the  college  apparatus. 

When  a  city  or  village  has  a  college  in  it,  this 
character  (*)  is  placed  near  its  name  on  the  map. 
What  are  the  places  in  the  United  States  which  con- 
tain colleges  ? 

You  may  now  draw  the  third  map,  on  which  you 
will  have  not  only  the  rivers  and  mountains,  but  the 
cities  and  towns.  For  those  which  are  not  capitals, 
you  ma}^  draw  a  small  circle  where  the  town  is  situ- 
ated, without  writing  the  name.  When  you  bring 
your  map  to  recitation,  you  may  first  point  to  the 
capital  of  each  state,  and  tell  me  its  name,  situation, 
and  number  of  inhabitants,  compared  with  New- 
York.  Then  commencing  with  Maine,  name  the 
towns  in  each  state  in  the  same  manner,  and  also 
which  of  the  cities  are  about  the  same  size.  Be 
particular,  also  to  mention  those  which  have  colle- 
ges in  them. 


54 


GEOGEAPHY 


.LESSON  FOURTEENTH. 

ROADS,  CANALS,  &c. 

Mother.  Describe  the  road  from  Boston  to  Bur- 
lington, in  Vermont  ?  It  passes  N.  W.  through  the 
N.  E.  part  of  Massachusetts,  thence  northerly, 
through  the  central  parts  of  New  Hampshire,  where 
it  passes  through  Concord,  the  capital,  then  crosses 
Connecticut  River  at  Haverhill,  and  bending  to  the 
W.,  passes  over  the  Green  Mountains,  among  which 
the  traveller  finds  Montpelier,  the  capital  of  Vermont* 
Thence  it  takes  a  west  course  to  Burlington. 

This  is  a  tolerably  minute  description  of  a  road  i<y 
make  from  a  map.  Had  you  been  a  dull  scholar,  I 
should  not  have  required  you  to  learn  so  much,,  but 
only  to  tell  the  direction  of  the  road,  and  states  and 
cities  through  which  it  passes  ;  and  now,  if  you  are 
disposed^  to  distinguish  yourself  as  a  remarkably 
good  scholar,  you  may  learn  it  still  more  minutely  ; 
as  for  instance,  you  may  say  that  after  this  road  en- 
ters New-Hampshire,  it  keeps  along  the  Merrimack ; 
and,  that  after  passing  Montpelier,  it  goes  along  the 
Onion  River  to  Burlington.  In  schools  where  maps 
are  studied,  the  poor  scholars  get  their  answers  just 
so  that  they  will  pass,  the  good  scholars  give  full  and 
distinct  answers,  and  the  very  good  scholars  delight 
in  learning  every  thing  that  is  to  be  learned. 

If  we  lived  near  Burlington,  I  should  have  told 
you  to  describe  the  road  from  Burlington  to  Boston, 
rather  than  from  Boston  to  Burlington. 

Describe  the  road  from  Portland  to  Boston. 
Divisions  of  the  f  from  Boston  to  New-York. 
great  road  extend-  |  from  Ncw-York  to  V/ashington. 

ing  nearly  parallel  i  Washin>rton  tO  Raleigh, 

to    the   sea-coast  V/.        Tr.i      i   .    nT-n    i  -n 
from  Portland  to    ^rom  Raleigh  to  Milledgeville. 

New  Orleans.        from  Milledgeville  to  N.  Orleans, 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


55 


Give  an  account  of  the  road  from  Albany  to  Buf- 
falo — from  Erie  to  Detroit,  round  the  southern  part 
of  Lake  Erie — from  New  Haven  to  Hanover,  in 
New  Hampshire, 

jy  C  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg. 

^''''''^^    I  from  Philadelphia  to  Knoxville. 
Mountains"^     I  Pittsburg  to  Lexington. 

from  Augusta  to  Nashville. 
You  may  take  a  strip  of  paper,  and  tell  me  by  your 
scale  of  miles,  the  distances  of  some  of  these  places 
from  each  other.  How  far  is  it  from  Portland  to 
Boston  ?  From  Boston  to  New-York  ?  From  New- 
York  to  Washington?  From  Washington  to  Ra- 
leigh? Raleigh  to  Milledgeville  ?  Milledgeville 
to  N.  Orleans  ?  What  is  the  distance  from  Portland 
to  N.  Orleans  ?  Boston  to  Washington  ?  N.  Orleans 
to  Washington.  You  may  find  the  distances  on  the 
other  roads  which  are  described,  in  the  same  manner. 
■  Canals  are  artificial  passages  for  water,  which  are 
made  at  great  expense  for  boat  navigation.  There 
are  some  short  canals,  sufficiently  broad  and  deep 
for  ships.  The  most  important  canal  in  the  United 
States,  and  perhaps  in  the  world,  is  the  Grand  Wes^ 
tern  Canal.    In  what  state  is  this  canal  ?    It  is  in 

the  state  of  .    It  connects  the  waters  of  Lake 

 with  those  of  river.  Another  canal,  call- 
ed the  Northern  Canal,  in  the  same  state,  connects 
the  waters  of  Lake  Champlain  with  those  of  the 
Hudson  River.  There  are  also  several  other  canals 
in  the  U.  States. 

A  canal  appears  like  a  narrow  straight  river,  ex. 
cept  where  there  ar.e  loclcs.  A  path  is  made  close 
to  one  of  its  banks,  which  is  called  a  tow-path. 
There  the  horse  moves,  which  drags,  or  tows  the 
1  boaJ.  It  is  as  easy  for  him  to  drag  along  a  large 
fboat  filled  with  heavy  articles,  as  it  would  be  to 
carry  a  very  small  part  of  them ;;  so  that  canals  are 


56 


GEOGRAPHY 


of  great  utility.  Locks  are  made,  where,  from  the 
situation  of  the  ground  there  must  be  a  descent  of 
the  water  ;  and  by  means  of  them  the  boats  can  be 
raised  or  lowered. 


Views  of  Canals.  , 

A  very  remarkable  range  of  lakes  lies  south  of  the 
Grand  Canal.  Some  of  them  are  about  40  miles  in 
length.  They  are  beautiful  sheets  of  v/ater,  and  give 
a  picturesque  appearance  to  the  country. 

The  most  important  mineral  springs  in  the  United 
States  are  in  New-York,  at  Bailstown,  and  Sarolo- 
ga.    In  what  part  of  the  slate  are  these  places  ? 


There  is  a  large  sivajnj^,  or  marsh,  in 


the  Dismal  Swamp 
fonaco. 


another  in 


-,  called 
called  Oke» 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


57 


LESSON  FIFTEEIfTH. 

COMPAKATIVE  SIZE  OF  THE  CXITED  STATES,  .AND 
PrvIXCLPAL  PRODUCTIONS. 

Mother.  The  numbers  placed  near  the  name  of  each 
^tate  relate  to  the  size  of  the  state,  and  have  the  same  . 
reference  to  the  w  hole  territory  of  the  United  States 
as  the  numbers  jDlace  1  near  the  rivers  have  to  Con- 
necticut River. 

The  whole  United  States,  then,  is  our  uiiit  or  mea^ 
sure  country ;  our  maps,  however,  do  not  show  the 
w  hole  of  the  vast  country  to  which  we  belong.  You 
will  see  vv  hen  we  come  to  the  map  of  the  world,  that 
it  extends  a  greater  distance  west  of  the  Mississippi  ♦ 
than  it  does  east  ;  but  this  vrestern  region  has  not  an 
equal  length  from  north  to  south.  Wirh  this  vast 
country  we  compare  its  various  parts,  as  well  as  the 
other  countries  of  the  world.  The  separate  "states 
bemg  parts  of  it,  are  of  course,  ail  smaller,  and  ma- 
ny of  them  very  much  smaller  than  the  whole  of  the 
extensive  country  belonging  to  our  government.  It 
would  take  a  thousand  states  of  the  size  of  Delaware 
\o  make  a  country  as  large  as  the  whole  United 
States:  and  357  of  the  size  of  Massachusetts.  Now 
iook  on  your  map  and  tell  me  how  many  states  as 
large  as  Virginia  would  make  tlie  whole  United 
States.  Give  the  comparative  size  of  New-York. 
What  other  states  are  of  the  same  size  ?  What  is 
the  comparative  size  of  Georgia  1  What  other  states 
are  of  the  same  size  ?  How  many  states  as  large  as 
North  Carohna  vrould  make  the  whole  territory  of 
the  United  States  ?  What  is  tlie  comparative  size  of 
South  Carolina?  Of  Tennessee — of  Kentuckv — • 
Ohio — Indiana — lUinois  — 3lichigan  ?  Vriiich  is 
the  smallest  state,  and  what  its  comparative  size  ? 


58 


GEOGRAPHY 


What  is  that  of  Connecticut  ?  How  many  states  as 
large  as  this  state  would  make  one  of  your  measure 
country  ?  What  is  the  comparative  size  of  Maine  ? 
of  New  Hampshire  ?    Of  Vermont  ? 

Now  make  me  a  table  of  the  states,  setting  them 
down  in  their  order,  from  greatest  to  least ;  and  if 
your  knowledge  of  arithmetic  is  sufficient,  calculate 
their  real  number  of  square  miles  by  comparing 
them  with  that  of  the  United  States,  which  contains 
2,500,000. 

The  United  States  embracing  so  vast  a  tract  of 
country,  and  extending  through  climates  so  various, 
must,  of  course,  be  greatly  diversified  in  the  produc- 
tions of  the  soil.  On  the  second  map  of  the  United 
States,  the  principal  productions,  of  the  various 
states  are  marked.  What  are  those  of  the  Eastern 
States  ?  What  are  those  of  the  Middle  ?  What  of 
the  Southern  ?  What  of  .  the  Western  ?  What 
states  abound  most  in  wheat  ?  What  in  pasturage  ? 
What  in  tobacco  ?  What  in  Indian  corn  1  Of 
what  states  is  cotton  the .  staple  product  1  Of  what 
states  is  rice  the  staple  product  ? 


EUROPE. 

I.ESSON  SIXTEENTH. 

SEAS,  CAPES,  STRAITS,  &c. 

Mother.  You  have  now  a  tolerably  good  idea  of  the 
divisions  of  land  and  water,  and  of  the  important  pla- 
ces of  our  own  country.  I  shall  next  take  you  east- 
ward,  3000  miles  Across  (the  Atlantic;,  to  visit  Eu- 
rope, the  land  of  your  forefathers. 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


59 


Europe  is  more  interesting  to  us  than  any  other 
part  of  the  world  except  our  own  country,  because 
as  our  forefathers  came  from  there,  our  language, 
learning,  manners,  and  customs  are  derived  from 
Europeans.  We  have  more  intercourse  with  them 
in  various  ways  than  with  any  other  people.  We 
purchase  more  things  of  them,  and  sell  more  things 
to  them.  Our  books  come  from  Europe,  and  our 
newspapers  are  almost  half  filled  with  accounts  of 
European  affairs,  i  We  cannot,  therefore,  understand 
the  books  put  into  our  hands,  nor  even  a  newspaper, 
without  knowing  the  geography  of  Europe. 

Here  is  a  little  map  of  Europe,  made  easy  to  draw, 
as  I  wish  you  to  commence  drawing  Europe  at  the 
same  time  that  you  begin  studying  it.  Proceed  in 
the  manner  directed,  while  you  were  drawing  the 
map  of  the  United  States.  If  you  can  learn  the 
boundaries  of  the  countries  more  easily  from  this 
small  map  than  from  the  larger  one,  you  may  use  it ; 
but  as  you  are  now  accustomed  in  some  measure  to 
study  from  maps,  you  will  not  find  yourself  confused 
by  different  objects,  as  at  first,  and  I  presume  you 
can  use  the  larger  one  without  any  difficulty. 

Europe  is  bounded  N.  by  the  Ocean  ;  E.  by 

the  mountains,  the  river  ,  the  sea  of  Azof, 

the  sea,  the  sea  of  Marmora,  and  the  Archi- 

pelago  ;  S.  by  the  Mediterranean  Sea ;  and  W.  by 
the  Ocean. 

,  "What  seas  and  gulfs  are  connected  with  the  Me- 
diterranean, south  of  Europe  ?    The  sea  of  Azof, 

which  is  connected  by  the  straits  of  to  the 

Black  Sea ;  the  Black  Sea,  which  is  connected  to 

the  little  sea  of  on  the  south  by  the  straits  of 

 ;  and  this  small  sea  is  connected  by  the  straits 

of  to  the  Archipelago,  a  large  bay  which  puts 

up  from  the  Mediterranean. 

Following  the  coast,  the  next  is  the  Guli  of  , 

r 


60 


GEOGRAPHY 


between  Italy  and  Turkey.     South  of  the  north- 

western  part  of  Italy  is  the  gulf  of  ;  and  south 

of  France  the  Gulf  of  . 

Which  is  the  most  northern  cape  of  Europe? 
Where  is  Cape  Naze  ?    Cape  Clear  ?    Land's  End, 
and  Lizard's  Point?    What  is  the  most  northerly 
cape  of  France  ?    Of  Spain  ?    What  cape  is  north- 
west of  Spain  ?    What  is  south-west  of  Portugal  ? 
What  is  the  most  southerly  cape  of  Spain?  What 
"  cape  is  south  of  Italy  1    What  south  of  Sicily? 
,  Which  is  the  most  southerly  cape  of  Europe  ? 
;      What  straits  connect  the  Mediterranean  with  the 
\  Atlantic  ?    What  large  divisions  of  water  are  con- 
nected with  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  west  of  Europe  ? 

The  Bay  of  ,  north  of  Spain,  and  west  of 

France.    The   channel,  between  England  and 

France  ?    channel  and  the  sea,  between 

England  and  Ireland  ?    The  — =^ —  sea,  east  of  the 
island  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  Baltic  Sea?  What 
/sea  is  connected  with  the  northern  ocean,  and  in 
/  what  country  is  it  ?    What  straits  connect  the  Bri- 
'    tish  channel  with  the  North  Sea  ? 


LESSON  SEVENTEENTH. 

SITUATION  OF  COUNTRIES,  PENINSULAS,  BOUNDARIES,  - 
COMPARATIVE  SIZE,  &c. 

What  five  countries  lie  on  the  southern  coast,  be- 
ginning with  Turkey  ?  What  seven  countries  lie  on 
the  western  coast,  beginning  with  Portugal,  and  tra- 
cmg  northerly?  What  large  country  occupies  ihe 
north-eastern  part  of  Europe  ?  What  countries  lie 
around  the  Baltic. 

What  two  countries  at  the  S.  W.  of  Europe  fx3rm 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


61 


a  large  peninsnJa,  nearly  surrounded  by  the  Bay  of 
Biscay,  the  Atlantic,  and  Mediterranean? 

What  countries  form  that  large  peninsula  which 
has  the  Atlantic  W.,  and  the  Baltic  and  its  waters 
S.  and  E.  ?  Wliat  peninsula  is  formed  by  the  Medi- 
terranean  W.  and  S.,  and  the  Gulf  of  Venice  N. 
E.  ?  What  peninsula  hes  south  of  European  Russia, 
being  formed  by  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  sea  of  Azof  ^ 

What  peninsula  lies  south  of  Turkey,  and  what 
waters  lie  around  it  ?  The  peninsula  of  Jutland  is 
the  northern  part  of  Denmark,  between  the  Catte- 
gate  E.  and  the  North  Sea  west ;  what  direction  is 
it  from  Germany  and  Sweden  ?  Now  tell  me  which 
are  the  principal  peninsulas  of  Europe  ? 

Give  the  boundaries  of  Turkey  ;  of  Italy  ;  Spain  ; 
France  ;  Switzerland  and  Netherlands. 

Germany,  is  composed  of  thirty-nine  small  states, 
and  is  considered  as  presenting  the  most  puzzling 
part  of  Geography.  Prussia  and  a  part  of  Austria 
with  Germany  proper,  are  united  in  the  German 
Confederation.  How  is  Prussia  bounded  ?  Austria? 
Bound  Denmark  ;  Norway ;  Sweden  ;  Russia. 

What  seas  are  around  Great  Britain  ?  around  Ire- 
land ?    In  what  direction  is  France  from  Prussia 
Austria  from  Great  Britain  ?    Germany  from  Tur- 
key ?    Switzerland  from  Spain  ? 

Which  is  the  largest  country  of  Europe,  and  what 
proportion  does  it  bear  to  the  vrhole  territory  of 
the  United  States?  What  is  the  comparative  size 
of  Germany  ?  Austria  ?  Prussia  ?  What  proportion 
does  Turkey  bear  to  your  measure  countr}^  ?  What 
other  countries  of  Europe  are  of  the  same  size  ? 
What  the  comparative  size  of  Norway  ?  How  many 
countries  of  the  size  of  Italy  vrould  make  one  of  the 
size  of  the  United  States  ?  What  then  is  its  compar- 
ative size  ?  What  is  the  comparative  size  of  France  ? 
of  the  Netherlands?  of  Denmark?    How  many 


62 


GEOGRAPHY 


countries  of  the  size  of  Switzerland  would  make  one 
of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  ?  What  then  is 
its  proportion?  Give  the  comparative  size  of  the 
kingdom  of  Great  Britain?  What  is  the  compara- 
tive  size  of  England  ?  of  Scotland  and  Ireland  ? 


liESSON  EIGHTEENTH. 

PART  I. 

MOUNTAINS,  RIVERS,  AND  LAKES. 

Mother.  What  are  the  principal  mountains  of  Eu- 
rope ? 

When  you  know  their  names  and  what  countries 
they  traverse,  you  may  learn  the  length  of  the  ran- 
ges, and  the  height  of  their  principal  peaks. 

The  Ural  Mountains  are  1500  miles  in  length. 
They  are  called  by  the  ignorant  people  who  live  near 
them,  the  girdle  of  the  world. 

The  Dofrafield  mountains  are  1000  miles  in  length. 

t'P^'  .        \  6  to  700 

Appenmes,  ^ 

Carpathian,  500 
Pyrenees,  200 
These  mountains  are  much  higher  than  any  in 
our  own  country.  Mount  Blanc,  the  highest  moun- 
tain in  Europe,  is  nearly  three  miles  high.  It  is  in 
Switzerland,  among  the  Alps,  as  is  also  Mount  Rosa, 
which  is  nearly  as  high  as  Mount  Blanc.  Mount 
Perdu,  which  is  the  highest  of  the  Pyrenees,  is  two 
miles  high.  St.  Bertrand  and  St.  Gothard,  peaks 
of  the  Alps,  are  a  little  more  than  one  mile  and  a 
half.  The  Appenine,  Dofrafield  and  Carpathian, 
are  one  mile  and  a  half ;  Mount  Olympus  in  Greece, 
one  mile  and  a  quarter ;  Ben  Nevis  in  Scotland,  is 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


63 


nearly  one  mile ;  and  Snowdon,  in  the  north-west 
corner  of  Wales,  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  in 
height. 

There  are  wonderful  appearances  connected  with 
some  of  the  mountains  in  Europe,  and  in  other  parts 
of  the  world,  that  we  know  nothing  of  here,  except 
as  described  by  people  who  have  seen  them.  What 
would  you  think,  if  some  evening  when  you  should 
be  looking  out  upon  our  mountain,  it  should  sudden- 
ly open  at  the  top,  and  with  great  roarings  and  sha- 
kings of  the  earth,  burst  forth  into  flames,  as  if  its 
inward  substance  had  taken  fire.  Then  as  if  its  in- 
terior had  become  red  hot  melted  lead,  it  should  send 
forth  from  this  tremendous  gap  at  the  top,  rivers  of 
this  melted  mass,  that  at  a  distance  should  seem  like 
immense  serpents  of  fire  rolling  and  bounding  along 
the  mountain,  and  destroying  every  tree  and  house, 
every  beast,  child,  and  man,  in  its  way.  You  seem 
amazed,  but  what  I  have  described  really  exists.  It 
is  a  volcano^  or  burning  mountain,  at  the  time  of  its 
eruption. 

These  mountains  are  mostly  noiseless,  thoug^ 
continually  sending  up  smoke,  and  presenting  in  the] 
evening  a  red  appearance,  as  if  there  was  fire  with-! 
in  ;  and  this  the  traveller  can  see  when  he  looks  in- 
tofie  awful  gap  at  the  top,  which  is  called  the  cra- 
tcrTp^But  at  some  times  they  burst  forth  in  the  man- 
ner I  have  described ;  which,  as  I  toM  you,  is  call- 
ed an  eruption.    The  consternation  ^f  the  people 
near  is  then  dreadful,  and  well  it  may  he^ for  houses 
are  often  shaken  down,  and  whole  cities  have  been 
covered  oveiiby  these  rivers  of^^elted  sand  and  met- 
als,  which  when  cold,  are  a  solid  dark  colored  mass 
called  lava,/y 


F  2 


64 


GEOGRAPHY 


Mount  Vesuvius. 


The  three  most  distinguished  volcanic  mountains 
in  Europe,  are  Mount  Vesuvius,  in  Italy,  near  Na- 
pies,  which  is  two  thirds  of  a  mile  in  height ;  Mount 
Etna,  in  Sicily,  which  is  two  miles;  and  Mount 
Hecla,  which  is  far  to  the  north,  in  Iceland,  and 
whose  height  is  one  mile.  Besides  these,  there  is 
the  volcano  of  Stromboli,  on  the  Lipari  Isles. 

You  can  now  draw  your  map  ,  for  the  mountains 
and  rivers  of  Europe,  in  the  same  manner  as  you 
did  the  map  of  the  United  States,  and  you  will  also 
be  able  to  give  me  a  particular  description  of  ther|. 

What  river  falls  into  the  sea  of  Azof?  What'fiv- 
ers  fall  into  the  Black  Sea  ?  W  hat  are  the  largest 
branches  of  the  Danube?  What  rivers  fall  into  the 
waters  of  the  Archipelago  ?  What  is  the  largest  that 
falls  into  the  Gulf  of  Venice  ?  What  large  river  of 
France  is  discharged  into  the  Mediterranean  ?  What 
of  Spain  ?  What  are  the  rivers  in  Spain  and  Portu- 
gal  that  fall  into  the  Atlantic  ?  What  of  France  that 
are  discharged  into  the  Bay  of  Biscay  ?  What  rivers 
fall  into  the  North  Sea  ?  What  into  the  Baltic  south 
of  the  Gulf  of  Riga  ?    What  river  is  discharged  inta 


FOR  BEGINNEKS. 


65 


the  Gulf  of  Riga.  What  large  river  of  Sweden  falls 
into  the  waters  of  the  Baltic?  What  river  of  Nor- 
way falls  into  the  Cattegat  ?  What  rivers  of  Russia 
fall  into  the  White  Sea?  What  into  the  Arctic? 
Which  are  the  principal  branches  of  the  Wolga  ? 

You  have  merely  told  the  names  of  these  rivers. 
Now  give  a  particular  description  of  each  one,  and 
tell  me  how  it  compares  in  size  with  Connecticut 
River.  Find  their  length,  if  your  knowledge  of  arith- 
metic is  sufficient,  and  arrange  them  into  a  table. 

The  largest  lakes  in  Europe  are  three  in  Russia, 
and  three  in  Sweden.  What  are  their  names  and 
situation  ?  The  lake  of  Geneva  is  near  a  city  of  the 
same  name.  The  river  Rhone  passes  through  this 
lake.  The  river  Rhine  passes  through  a  lake,  also, 
which  is  called  lake  Constance.  In  what  part  of 
Europe  are  these  lakes  ?  There  is  a  range  of  beau- 
tiful lakes  lying  along  in  the  southern  part  of  Swit- 
zerland and  the  northern  of  Italy,  which  are  said  to 
resemble,  in  some  respects,  those  in  the  western 
part  of  the  state  of  New- York.  They  are,  however, 
more  romantic  in  their  situation,  because  they  lie 
among  mountains,  v/hereas  those  in  New-York  are 
situated  in  a  level  country. 


I.ESSON  EIGHTEENTH. 

PART  11. 
CITIES  AND  TOW^NS  OF  EUROPE. 

Now  learn  the  capitals  of  each  of  the  countries  of 
Europe,  and  the  other  principal  cities  in  the  same 
manner  that  you  did  those  of  the  United  States. 
The  cities  of  Europe  are  much  larger  than  those  of 
our  own  country.  London,  which  contains  the 
greatest  number  of  inhabitants,  has  more  than  6 


66 


GEOGRAPHY 


times  as  many  as  New-York.  You  can  now  tell  me 
nearly  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  London.  From 
this  table,  you  can  learn  that  of  the  other  cities. 

Paris  has  4  times  the  number. 


Constantinople 

Naples 

Moscow 

Petersburg 

Lisbon 

Vienna 

Amsterdam 

Madrid 

Dublin 

Berlin 

Glasgow 

Rome 

Milan 

Palermo 

Barcelona 

Hamburg 

Valencia 

Copenhagen 

Edinburgh 

Marseilles 

Venice 

Adrianople 

Liverpool 

Lyons 

Manchester 

Bordeaux 

Cork 

Turin 

Birmingham 
Prague 
Rouen 
Seville 


3 


Brussels 

Bristol 

Genoa 

Stockholm 

Florence 

Nantes 

Oporto 

Bologna 

Cadiz 

Salonica 

Warsaw 

Breslau 

Antwerp 

Lisle 

Ghent 

Munich 

Bucharest 

Verona 

Plymouth 

Rotterdam 

Konigsberg 

Saragossa 

Malaga 

Granada 

Leghorn 

Catanea 

Dantzic 

Limerick 

Dresden 

Sophia 

Toulouse 

Frankfort 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


67 


Lemburg 

Hague 

Amiens 

Cronstadt 

Bath 

Bremen 

Riga 

Trieste 

Leeds 

Newcastle 

Odessa 

Cagliari 

Aberdeen 

Leipsic 

Montpelier 

Belfast 

Clermont 

Messina 

Valladolid 

Toulon 

Carthagena 

Geneva 

Cracow 

Toledo 

Belgrade 

Hanover 

Gottenburg 

Brest 

Presburg 


Ratisbon 

Havre 

Wilna 

Cordova 

Perth 

Syracuse 

York 

Bergen  «■ 

Bilboa 

Inverness 

St.  Ubes 

Carlscrona 

Salamanca 

Berne 

Oxford 

Zante 

Cambridge 

Cherson 

Londonderry 

Inspruck 

Athens 

Gottingen 

Drontheim 

Norkoping 

Elsinore 

Upsal 

Fahlun 

Christiansand 


It  will  probably  take  four  or  five  lessons  to  learn 
all  these  cities  perfectly.  You  will  remember  that 
you  are  to  place  them  on  your  map,  and  explain  it 
as  you  did  that  of  the  United  States. 


68 


GEOGRAPHY 


LESSON  NINETEENTH. 

INSTRUCTION  ON  THE  MAP  OF  THE  WORLD". 

WRONG  IDEAS    CORRECTED,  BOUNDARIES  OF  OCEANS^ 
CONTINENTS,  &c. 

Mother.  We  now  commence  drawing  and  stu- 
dying the  map  of  the  world,  which  you  would 
have  found  difficult,  if  I  had  not  first  made  you 
somewhat  familf^r  with  maps,  by  beginning  with 
those  which  are  easier.  The  surface  of  the  earth 
cannot  be  represented  as  justly  on  a  map  as  on  a 
globe  ;  and  if  it  was  as  convenient,  globes  would  be 
used  altogether. 

Suppose  that  the  paper  which  covers  the  globe 
could  be  taken  off,  like  the  peel  of  an  orange.  If  I 
cut  once  round  the  orange,  and  then  spread  out  the 
halves  of  the  peel  flat,  this  would  be  like  the  map  of 
the  world,  as  it  is  here  laid  down.  But  before  I 
could  make  the  two  halves  of  the  orange  peel  lie  flat, 
I  must  stretch  the  edges  and  press  the  middle  parts 
together.  Now  if  we  suppose  the  paper  which  cov- 
ers the  globe  to  be  elastic,  and  we  could  stretch  the 
edges,  and  press  together  the  middle  of  each  of  the 
halves,  this  would  make  it  lie  flat  like  the  map  of  the 
world ;  but  the  countries  round  the  edge  would  be 
larger,  and  those  in  the  centre  smaller,  than  they 
ought  to  be.  This  is  precisely  the  defect  of  such  a 
map ;  whereas  a  globe  gives  the  seas  and  countries 
in  their  true  proportions  to  each  other.  But  there 
are  other  important  reasons  for  learning  the  geogra- 
phy  of  the  earth  from  a  globe  where  it  can  be  obtain- 
ed rather  than  from  a  map.  Look  on  this  map  near 
the  letter  E.  which  stands  for  east,  there  is  the  isl- 
and of  New  Guinea.  Now  look  to  the  opposite  side. 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


69 


Near  the  letter  VV.  for  west,  you  find  Queen  Char- 
lotte's  Island.  What  do  you  think  respecting  the 
distances  of  these  two  places  ? 

Frank.  Why,  it  must  be  a  very  long  way  between 
them.  They  are  as  far  apart  as  the  east  is  from  the 
west. 

Mother.  No.  Tliey  are  very  near  together.  Now 
look  at  them  on  the  globe.  ^ 

Frank.  O  !  now  I  perceive  how  it  is.  It  was  be- 
tween these  two  that  we  suppose  the  paper  of  the 
map  to  be  divided  in  peeling  it  from  the  globe.  Yet 
it  seems  as  if  the  places  which  are  most  distant  on 
the  map  must  be  so  in  reality ;  but  I  vvdll  endeavor 
not  to  be  deceived  in  this  way  again. 

Mother.  No  two  places  can  be  more  distant  from 
each  other  than  half  the  distance  round  the  globe  ; 
that  is,  half  its  circumference.  If  you  trace  quite 
round,  you  come  to  the  same  place  again.  There  is, 
however,  one  advantage  in  studying  from  a  map  of 
the  world  rather  than  from  a  globe,  or  from  maps  of 
part  of  the  earth's  surface.  You  have  all  the  coun- 
tries of  tlie  world  before  you  at  once.  You  can  see 
how  they  all  compare  in  size,  and  how  they  all  lie, 
one  from  another ;  and  this  is  a  very  important  part 
of  geographical  knovv^ledge,  which  you  learn^  of 
course,  while  you  are  studying  boundaries,  towns, 
rivers,  &c.  It  is  partly  on  tliis  account  that  I  shall 
not  at  present  give  you  separate  maps  of  Asia,  Afri- 
ca, and  South  America. 

You  perceive  that  about  two  thirds  of  the  earth's 
surface  is  covered  with  a  vast  collection  of  water, 
which  is  called  the  ocean.  The  ocean  is  divided 
by  geographers  into  five  separate  oceans  ;  the  Atlan- 
tic, Pacific,  Indian,  Northern,  or  Arctic,  and  South- 
ern^ or  Antarctic  Oceans. 

The  most  general  divisions  of  land  are  the  East- 
ern and  Western  continents,  and  the  islands  of  Aus- 


70 


GEOGRAPHY 


tralasia  and  Polynesia.  What  ocean  lies  north  of 
the  eastern  continent  ?  What  east  ?  What  two 
south  ?    What  one  west  ? 

What  ocean  lies  north  of  the  western  continent  ? 
What  east?    What  south  ?    What  west  ? 

In  what  direction  are  the  islands  of  Australasia 
from  Asia  1  Here,  as  you  find  many  of  Ihem  on  the 
half  of  the  map  where  the  west  is  marked,  if  you  had 
not  been  instructed  to  consider  the  extreme  parts  of 
the  map  as  really  belonging  together,  you  might  be 
led  to  think  they  were  far  west.  But  you  know  that 
if  you  saw  them  on  the  globe  they  would  appear  east 
from  Asia.  As  many  of  them  are  in  a  southerly  di- 
rection  also,  you  will  be  correct  in  saying  the  islands 
of  Australasia  are  east  and  south-east  from  Asia. 
Where  are  the  isles  of  Polynesia  ?  How  is  the  At- 

iantic  ocean  bounded  ?    North  by  the  ocean  ; 

east  by  the  — — ■  continent ;  south  by  the  - —  ocean  ; 

west  by  the    continent.    How  is  the  Pacific 

ocean  bounded  ?  How  is  the  Indian  7  The  Indian 
ocean  is  bounded  N.  by  Asia  ;  E.  by  the  islands  of 
 ■  ;  S.  by  the  ocean  ;  W.  by  Africa. 

Where  is  the  northern  ocean  ;  It  lies  round  the 
north  pole,  and  north  of  the  and  conti- 
nents. 

Where  is  the  southern  ocean  ?    It  lies  round  the 

south  pole,  south  of  the  and   continents, 

and  also  of  the  islands  of  Australasia  and  Polynesia. 

The  eastern  continent  is  divided  into  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa  ;  and  the  western  into  North  and 
South  America.  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  Ameri- 
ca are  sometimes  called  the  four  quarters  of  the 
world. 

What  part  of  the  E.  continent  is  called  Asia? 
What  part  is  called  Africa  ?    What  Europe  ? 

Before  you  are  required  to  give  the  boundaries  of 
these  countries,  you  must  learn  the  names  of  the  lar- 


FOE  BEGINNERS. 


71 


gest  seas,  bays,  and  gulfs,  which  lie  about  their 
coasts.  In  describing  the  boundaries  of  the  whole 
continent,  you  should  only  notice  the  oceans  ;  but 
when  you  bound  the  larger  subdivisions  of  land,  you 
should  mention  the  laro-er  subdivisions  of  water. 


TWENTIETH. 

LATITUDE  EXPLAINED— APPARENT  MOTION  OF  THE 
SUN. 

Mother.  1  v»411  now  commence  explaining  those 
lines  which  are  drawn  round  the  earth  from  east  to 
west.  On  the  globe  they  are  parallel,  that  isjthey 
constantly  keep  the  same  distance  from  each  othef^ 
and  it  is  owing  to  the  imperfection  of  the  map,  the 
middle  parts  being  crowded  together,  that  they  are 
not  parallel  here.  These  lines  are  called  ^parallels 
of  latitude. 

Franh.  If  I  could  mount  up  in  the  air  so  high 
that  I  could  look  down  upon  this  round  world,  could 
I  see  these  lines  marked  upon  it? 

Mother.  No.  Nor  could  you  see  these  places 
which  are  called  the  North  Pole,  and  South  Pole, 
or  this  great  circle  called  the  Equator,  which  is 
drawi/round  the  earth  from  east  to  v/est,  and  di- 
vides it  into  two  equal  parts.  Yet  tlioughl  these  are 
not  really  marked  on  the  earth,  geographers  may  not 
as  well  take  one  place  as  another  for  the  situation  of 
the  poles,  and  the  Equator.  There  are  importanK 
circumstances  arising  from  the  earth's  situation  in  ^ 
respect  to  the  sun,  which  distinguish  the  poles  and 
the  equator  from  other  parts  of  the  earth. : 

The  equator  is  placed  by  geom-aphers  on  that  part 
of  the  earth's  surface  where  th^days  and  nights  are 

G 


72 


GEOGRAPHY 


always  of  equal  length,  and  where  the  sun  is  direct- 
ly over  the  heads  of  the  inhabitants  once  in  six 
months. 

The  first  of  the  two  periods  of  the  year  in  which 
the  sun  is  directly  over  the  equator,  occurs  on  the 
20th  of  March,  and  is  called  the  vernal  equinox.4- 
The  other  happens  on  ithe  22d  of  September,  and  is 
called  the  autumnal  equint)x.  At  these  two  seasons 
the  days  are  equal  to  the  nights,  being  each  twelve 
hours  in  length,  and  the  sun  rises  due  east,  and  sets 
due  west,  not  only  at  the  equator,  but  in  ail  parts  of 
the  earth. 

If  you  were  at  the  equator  at  the  time  of  either 
of  the  equinoxes,  you  would  see  the  sun  rise  in  the 
east,  and  mount  directly  upwards.  At  noon  it 
woulj  shine  on  the  top  of  your  head,  and  you  would 
cast  no  shadow  at  all.  From  the  20th  of  March  to 
the  2'lst  of  .Tune  you  would  see  the  sun  farther  to 
the  North  ;  your  shadow  at  noon,  which  would  fall 
towards  the  south  would  lengthen  ;  and  on  the  21st 
of  Juie  the  sun  would  be  as  far  north  as  it  ever  is  ; 
after  that  it  would  be  coming  towards  the  equator, 
till  on  the  22d  of  September  it  would  exhibit  the 
same  appearance  as  on  the  20th  of  March. 

From  that  tim.e  till  the  21st  of  December,  the  sun 
goes  south  from  the  equator.  At  this  time  it  is  as 
far  south  as  it  ever  goes,  and  then  it  commences  its 
return,  and  is  over  the  equator  again  on  the  20th  of 
March.  A  year  is  reckoned  by  one  of  these  circuits 
of  the  sun. 

The*  21st  of  June,  and  the  21st  of  December,  are 
called  the  summer  and  winter  solstices. 

Frank.  I  do  not  understand  all  that  you  tell 
me. 

Mother.  You  must  think  some  time  on  these  sub- 
jects before  they  will  seem  plain  to  you.  Fancy 
yourself  at  the  equator  on  the  20th  of  March,  and 


FOE  BEGINNERS. 


73 


try  to  see  with  your  "  mind's  eye  "  the  course  of  the 
sun  during  a  da}^  Point  your  hand  to  the  east,  as 
if  you  pointed  at  him  while  rising.  Raise  your  hand 
slowly,  keeping  your  arm  extended  till  you  point 
directly  over  your  head.  Now  it  is  noon,  and  you 
almost  feel  the  sun's  hot  rays  shining  directly  down 
upon  you.  Carry  j^our  hand  over  to  the  west  until 
you  point  to  the  setting  sun.  You  have  had  a  terri- 
ble hot  day  of  tv»'elve  hours  in  length,  but  you  may 
be  thankful  that  you  will  have  a  night  as  long.  You 
could  not  live  at  the  equator  if  you  had  not  long 
nights. 

Frank.  Now  this  seems  much  plainer.  How 
grand  it  must  be  to  see  the  sun  mount  -  directly  up- 
wards.  But  it  would  seem  still  more  singular  to  see 
him  north  of  us. 

Mother,  Yes,  but  all  the  people  who  live  south 
of  the  equator  see  him  in  the  north,  in  the  same 
manner  as  we  who  live  north  see  him  in  the  south. 

When  the  sun  after  the  20th  of  March  goes  north 
of  the  equator  he  is  at  noon  over  the  heads  of  peo- 
ple farther  north,  that  is,  nearer  us. 

Frank.  But  the  sun  is  never  so  far  north  as  to  be 
directly  over  us.  How  far  to  the  north  of  the  equa- 
tor does  he  shine  on  to  the  top  of  people's  heads  ? 

Mother.  That  is  in  substance  a  very  proper  ques- 
tion. But  you  would  express  3-ourself,  and  under- 
stand  me  better,  if  you  were  made  acquainted  with 
the  meaning  of  a  few  words  generally  used  in  speak- 
ing on  these  subjects.  Instead  of  asking  how  far  to 
the  north  of  the  equator  the  sun  ever  shines  on  the 
tops  of  people's  heads,  you  might  ask  how  far  to  the 
north  the  sun  is  ever  vertical,  as  that  means  the 
same  thing.  The  point  in  the  heavens  directly 
above  us  is  called  the  zenith.  East,  West,  North 
and  South,  are  points  in  the  horizon,  and  are  called 
its  principal  or  cardinal  'points. 


74 


GEOGKAPHY 


The  horizon  is  that  hne  which  Kmits  our  prospect^ 
and  where  the  heavens  seem  to  meet  the  surface  of 
the  earth.  When  you  study  astronomy,  you  will 
learn  that  there  is  another  kind  of  horizon,  but  this 
definition  is  sufficient  for  our  present  purpose.  An- 
other line  which  we  must  imagine  to  be  drawn  in 
the  heavens,  is  the  meridian,  which  passes  from 
north  to  south  through  the  zenith.  When  the  sun 
comes  to  this  line  it  is  noon. 

The  answer  to  your  question,  how  far  to  the  north 
of  the  equator  is  the  sun  ever  vertical,  shall  com- 
mence our  next  lesson. 


LESSON  TWENTY-FIRST« 
EXPLANATION  OF  LATITUDE  CONTINUED, 

Mother.  Y^u  perceive  this  line,  which  is  called 
the  tropic  of  Cancer.  The  sun  comes  so  far  north 
as  to  be  vertical  to  the  inhabitants  here.  The  time 
is  the  21st  of  June,  which  is  called  the  summer  sol- 
stice by  us,  but  the  winter  solstice  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  southern  hemisphere. 

When  he  goes  south  from  the  equator,  he  pro- 
ceeds to  the  tropic  of\ Capricorn,  and  is  there  verti- 
cal  at  our  winter,  but  their  sumfrier  solstice. 

These  two  tropics  then  include  the  onh/  portion 
of  the  earth  where  the  sun  is  ever  vertical.  Geog- 
raphers  call  this  the  torrid,  or  burning  zone.  Now 
look  upon  your  map,  and  tell  me  what  are  the  prin- 
cipal countries  and  islands  which  it  contains. 

As  you  go  from  the  equator  to  either  pole,  the 
days  and  nights  become  more  and  more  unequal.— 
But  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  have  day  and 
night  once  in  twenty-four  hours,  till  you  get  beyond 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


75 


those  parallels  of  latitude,  which  are  called  polar  cir- 
cles. The  northern  is  the  Arctic,  the  southern  the 
Antarctic  circle. 

Frank.  I  wish  you  would  make  me  live  at  one 
of  the  Polar  Circles,  as  you  did  at  the  equator.  I 
find  the  sun  alters  his  track  through  the  heavens  so 
much  at  different  situations  from  the  equator,  that 
I  think  I  should  like  to  take  a  peep  at  him  from 
some  where  near  the  pole. 

Mother.  Well  suppose  yourself  to  be  at  the  Arc- 
tic circle  now.  Suppose  it  to  be  the  20Lh  of  March, 
as  we  are  in  the  way  of  beginning  our  j^ear  at  that 
time.  See  the  sun  as  he  rises  due  east.  But  he 
does  not  mount  up  the  sky  as  he  does  here,  much 
less  go  directly  towards  the  zenith,  as  he  does  at  the 
equator.  He  goes  quite  near  the  horizon,  and  at 
noon  is  only  about  a  quarter  of  the  distance  from  the 
horizon  to  the  zenith.  After  the  20th  of  March  he 
rises  farther  and  farther  towards  the  north,  and  as 
you  may  observe  here,  he  keeps  constantly  the  same 
slope  or  obliquity  with  respect  to  the  horizon,  and 
as  he  rises  farther  north  he  is  farther  north,  or  near- 
er the  zenith  at  noon.  But  when  these  circles  of 
daily  motion  are,  as  here,  very  oblique  to  the  hori- 
zon, the  sun  changes  the  place  of  his  rising  and  set- 
ting  very  fast.  Every  mc  rning  3-ou  can  see  that  he 
goes  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  north,  and  every  day 
you  will  perceive  is  longer  than  the  day  before. — 
Now  look  for  something  that  is  worth  your  journey 
to  the  arctic  circle.  It  is  the  21st  of  June.  The 
sun  is  rising  in  the  north.  He  w^heels  towards  the 
east,  then  to  the  south,  comes  to  the  meridian  a  lit- 
tle m-ore  than  half  way  from  the  horizon  to  the  ze- 
nith, then  bends  his  course  to  the  west,  and  finally 
completes  his  sublime  circuit  at  the  same  point  from 
which  he  arose.  Thus  he  has  wheedled  one  whole 
G  2 


?6 


GEOGRAPHY 


circuit  around  the  heavens,  and  the  day  has  been  24 
hours  in  length. 

But  now  this  brilhant  summer's  day  has  passed. 
The  sun  begins  to  recede  from  the  north,  he  rises  - 
nearer  the  east,  and  is  farther  from  the  zenith  at 
noon,  till  on  the  22d  of  September  every  thing  ap- 
pears as  it  did  on  the  20th  of  March. 

After  the  autumnal  equinox  the  sun  rises  nearer 
and  nearer  to  the  south,  the  days  grow  short  very 
fast,  and  the  sun  at  noon  is  but  a  little  distance 
above  the  horizon.  Now  a  tim.e  is  coming  that  will 
make  you  wish  yourself  at  home.  The  21st  of  De- 
cember  is  come.  Yesterday  the  sun  rose  in  the 
south,  and  was  above  the  horizon  a  few  moments  ; 
now  it  is  twelve  o'clock,  and  the  twilight  is  bright 
in  the  south,  but  the  pleasant  sun  will  not  appear, 
although  we  have  had  a  dreary  and  bitter  freezing 
night  of  24  hours.  The  sun  however  is  now  at  his 
greatest  southern  limit,  and  will  return  tov/ards  the 
north,  and  be,  next  March,  where  he  was  on  the 
March  previous. 

At  the  antarctic  circle  all  the  same  appearances 
would  take  place,  except  that  there  the  sun  would  be 
north  of  the  zenith,  the  same  that  he  is  south  at  the 
arctic  circle.  On  their  long  day  the  sun  would  rise 
in  the  south,  wheel  through  the  east  tov^^ards  the  ze- 
nith,  and  set  in  the  south  again.* 

Frank.  Well,  really  mother,  you  take  the  sun 
and  whirl  him  round  the  heavens  to  that  he  dazzles 
me.    You  make  pictures  with  v/ords.  Whenever 

*  In  teaching  such  passages,  instructors  will  do  well  to  read 
them  to  their  classes  in  the  tones  and  gestures  of  familiar  conver- 
sation. When  my  young  pupils  have  complained  that  they  did 
not  understand  their  lessons,  and  wished  me  to  explain  them,  I 
have  often  merely  read  their  books  to  them  in  this  manner,  some- 
tirftes  perhaps  changing  a  few  of  the  hardest  of  the  words  for 
those  more  simple,  and  my  reading  was  received  as  a  satisfactory 
explanation. 


FOR  REGIWNERS. 


77 


you  are  at  leisure,  I  hope  you  will  amuse  me,  by 
making  me  live  in  some  new  situation. 

MotJier,  But  although  I  make  pictures  with 
words,  and  certainly  wish  to  please  you,  yet  it  would 
be  wrong  in  you  because  you  are  amused,  to  sup- 
pose that  I  do  it  merely  for  your  gratification.  I  as- 
sure you  that  to  get  a  clear  idea  of  the  appearance  of 
the  sun  at  the  different  distances  from  the  equator, 
is  not  only  the  most  important  item  of  geographical 
knowledge,  because  it  leads  you  to  so  much  other 
information,  but  it  is  essentially  necessary  to  lead  the 
,  way  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the  science  of  as- 
tronomy. 

But  if  you  should  go  to  other  parts  of  the  earth, 
the  inhabitants  there  would  think  the  appearance  of 
our  sun  as  amusing  as  you  do  theirs.  At  the  time 
of  the  next  equinox  you  must  commence  a  course  of 
observation  on  his  appearance  here.  For  our  next 
lesson  I  will  give  you  a  plan  for  making  such  a 
course. 


LESSON  TWENTY-SECOND. 

PLAN  OF  OBSERVATION  OF  THE  SUN'S  APPARENT 
COURSE. 

Mother,  Take  one  day  for  observation  in  each 
month,  which  will  make  twelve  observations  in  a 
year.  On  these  days  look  at  the  sun  through  a  piece 
of  smoked  glass,  so  as  not  to  injure  your  eyes,  and 
observe  his  course  through  the  heavens.  When  I 
call  on  you  at  the  close  of  the  year,  you  can  point 
to  the  place  in  the  horizon  v/hich  he  occupied  on 
this  particular  day,  trace  him  along  with  his  true 
slope,  and  point  to  the  place  in  the  meridian  which 


78 


GEOGRAPHY 


he  occupied  at  noon,  and  then  carry  your  hand  down  > 
to  his  place  in  the  west.  When  you  have  faithfully 
observed  the  sun  in  this  manner  through  the  year, 
I  can  make  you  understand  much  better  than  you 
would  now,  several  things  which  I  wish  to  teach  you 
in  a  more  extensive  geographical  course,  that  I  in- 
tend giving  you  soon.  This  observation  will  also 
be  the  commencement  of  your  astronomical  studies. 
You  could  not  recollect  each  observation  without 
writing  it  down  at  the  time  you  made  it.  In  order 
to  do  this,  you  must  consider  that  all  circles  are  said 
to  be  divided  fnto  360  degrees  j)  therefore,  a  quarter 
of  any  circle  is  ninety  degrees.  Point  to  the  zenith  ; 
carry  your  hand  over  to  the  south.  You  have  con- 
stantly pointed  towards  the  meridian,  and  traced  a 
quarter  of  its  circle.  The  sun  at  noon  is  always  to 
us  somewhere  on  this  line.  If  you  reckon  the  whole 
of  this  line  ninety  degrees,  of  course  half  of  it  will 
be  forty-five.  Degrees  mean  nothing  more  than 
equal  parts.  If  you  should  judge  then  at  noon,  that 
the  sun  is  about  half  way  from  the  zenith  to  the  ho- 
rizon,(^write  that  it  is  forty-five  degrees  from  the  ze- 
nith or  hiorizon.  If  you  judge  that  it  is  about  one 
third  of  the  distance  from  the  zenith  to  the  horizon, 
write  that  it  is  about  60  degrees  from  the  horizon, 
or  30  degrees  from  the  zenith,  which  you  know  is 
the  same  thing,  ^ 

Now  observe  that^ie  horizon  from  the  point  east 
to  the  point  south,  is  aT quarter  of  a  circT^  and  this 
also  is  divided  into  ninety  equal  parts.  A^quarter  of 
a  circle  is,  as  I  told  you,  always  supposed  to  be  di- 
vided into  ninety  degrees,  which  you  now  perceive 
to  be  a  very  great  convenience.  This  character  (^) 
is  used  to  signify  degrees. 

From  the  point  east,  round  to  the  point  north,  is 
also  divided  into  the  same.  When  the  sun,  at  his 
rising  and  setting,  appears  to  vary  from  the  point 


FOR  BEGINNEES. 


79 


east  and  west,  you  will  know  how  to  express  it.  For 
instance,  should  the  sun  appear  to  rise  about  one 
ninth  part  of  the  distance  from  east  round  to  the 
south,  you  would  say  that  he  rose  about  10  degrees 
south  of  east. 

If  you  knew  how  to  express  what  is  the  slope  of 
the  sun  as  he  rises  towards  the  meridian,  you  would 
now  be  able  to  virite  your  observations  in  quite  a  sci- 
entific  manner.  Suppose  you  are  standing,  your 
face  to  the  soutli,  to  observe  the  sun  ;  let  the  line  E 
S.  represent  the  horizon  from  the  east  to  the  south, 
and  S  Z.  the  meridian.  Suppose  the  sun  rises  in 
tbf»  east  and  moves  towards  the  meridian  in  the  line 
E  M.  The  point 
E.  where  the 
lines  meet  is  an 
angle,  and  is  a 
greater  or  less 
angle  in  propor- 
tion as  these 
lines  are  farther  M 
from  each  other, 
or  nearer  togeth- 
er. This  is  the 
angle  which  the 
sun's  daily  path 
makes  with  the 
horizon.    If  the 

sun  comes  to  the  E   B 

meridian  near  the  southern  horizon,  the  angle  at  E 
will  be  small ;  if  far  from  it,  it  will  be  large.  When 
the  sun  is  at  the  equinoxes,  you  recollect  it  rises  in 
the  east,  or  just  half  way  between  the  north  and  south 
points  in  the  heavens,  and  at  this  time  the  degrees 
of  the  meridian  between  the  point  south  (S)  and  the 
place  where  the  sun  comes  to  the  meridian,  (M.)  are 
the  measure  of  this  angle.    But  the  angle  will  al- 


80 


GEOGRAPHY 


ways  be  the  same,  whether  it  rises  in  the  east  or 
elsewhere,  so  that  if  you  make  your  observation  at 
the  time  of  the  equinox,  it  will  be  made  once  for  all. 

I  must  now  tell  you,  alt^ugh  the  remark  rather 
belongs  to  astronom}^,  thaithe  line  of  the  sun's  course 
at  the  time  of  the  equinoxes  ,(E.  M.)  is  the  same  as 
the  equator  of  the  heavens.  The  latitude  of  any 
place  is  so  many  degrees,  as  the  distance  of  the  point 
M.  from  the  zenith  ;  that  is,  the  latitude  of  any  place 
is  so  many  degrees,  as  the  sun  is  at  noon  from  the 
zenith  at  the  time  of  the  equinoxes. 

Your  observations,  then,  will  be  made  thus  :  On 

 day  of    month,  the  sun  rose  about  

degrees  from  the  east,  ascended  with  an  angle  of 

about    degrees,  came  to  the  meridian  about 

 degrees  from  the  zenith.    Observe  whether 

you  do  not  find  his  course  downwards  from  the  me- 
ridian, from  noon  to  sunset,  exactly  the  same  as  his 
course  upwards  from  sun-rise  till  noon. 

Frank.  I  have  been  thinking  that  this  must  be 
a  very  curious  sun,  to  be  moving  at  the  same  time 
so  very  differently  for  people  in  different  parts  of 
the  earth. 

Mother.  I  will  now  tell  you  something  which  will 
surprise  you.  The  sun  does  not  move  at  all.  His 
seeming  motions  are  caused,  not  by  his  changing  his 
place  with  regard  to  us,  but  by  our  changing  our 
place  with  respect  to  him.  Have  you  not  sometimes 
found,  when  you  have  been  moving  in  a  very  gentle 
manner,  that  every  thing  seemed  moving  in  a  direc- 
tion contrary  to  your  own  motion  ? 

Frank.  Oh  yes  !  That  amused  me  very  much 
when  I  sailed  in  the  steam  boat  down  the  Hudson 
River.  The  wind  being  very  high,  you  remem- 
ber  the  boat  rocked,  a  strange  feeling  of  some- 
thing  pleasing,  yet  awful,  stole  over  me,  while  it 
seemed  that  the  fields,  and  forests,  and  mountains 


FOR  BEGIXXESS 


81 


were  all  rising  as  I  sunk,  and  sinking  as  I  rose,  and 
darting  swiftly  to  the  north  as  I  passed  to  the  south. 

Motlier.  An  excellent  illustration.  You  see  from 
this  that  motion  is  not  always  as  it  seems.  Now 
bear  it  in  mind,  that  the  earth  on  which  we  live  is 
round ;  that  let  you  be  on  what  part  of  it  you  will, 
your  feet  point  to  the  centre,  and  that  part  of  the 
heavens  towards  which  your  head  points, ;  seems  to 
you  the  highest  point  or  zenith.  If  then  you  stand 
on  that  part  of  the  earth,  (as  at  the  equator.)  where 
your  head  points  directly  towards  the  sun  at  noon, 
then  the  sun  appears  to  you  in  the  zenith.  Now 
imagine  a  line,  (an  imaginary  hne  you  know  is  not 
heavy,)  imagine  a  line  I  say,  which  rests  upon  your 
head  and  passes  directly  up  into  the  heavens,  vdiich 
shall  move  as  you  move.  The  top  of  this  line  is  your 
zenith,  and  if  you  are  at  the  equator,  at  noon  it 
would  point  directly  to  the  sun.  Now  suppose  you 
set  out  from  the  equator,  carrying  your  line  with 
you,  on  a  journey  to  the  north  pole.  As  you  go 
north,  your  zenith,  or  top  of  your  imaginaiy  line,  re- 
cedes from  the  sun,  while  it  seems  to  you  that  the 
sun  has  moved  away  from  your  zenith  downwards 
towards  the  south ;  and  if  you  go  from  the  equator 
towards  the  south,  the  sun  seems  to  go  from  your  ze- 
nith downwards  towards  the  north. 

Frank,  (j^hdl  seems  to  account  f(^r  the  sun's  ap- 
pearing  sometimes  directly  over  the  heads  of  people, 
sometimes  north,  and  scmecimes  south  of  then^  But 
why,  if  the  sun  does  not  move,  does  he  seem  to  go 
round  the  earth  every  day.  By  your  account,  if  we 
should  all  set  out,  and  run  round  the  earth  in  twen- 
ty.four  hours  from  w-est  to  east,  the  sun  would  ap- 
pear to  move  as  he  now  does,  in  the  contrary  way 
from  east  to  west.    Mother  do  not  laugh  at  me. 

MotJier.  Sincerely,  my  boy,  do  I  ask  your  par- 
don.   But  be  assured  it  was  not  a  laugh  of  derision, 


82 


GEOGRAPHY 


but  of  pleasure.  You  were  so  intent  on  your  prin- 
ciple,  that  you  did  not  seem  to  perceive  that  your  il- 
lustration of  our  all  running  round  the  globe  over 
land  and  over  sea,  nearly  25,000  miles  in  a  day,  was 
rather  ludicrous  ;  but  what  delighted  me  was  the 
originality  of  your  idea,  and  the  justness  of  your  con- 
elusion ;  which  as  I  have  unintentionally  wounded 
your  feelings,  I  wiiUay  I  exulted  to  think,  showed 
in  a  child  the  workings  of  a  fertile  and  vigorous  mind. 
But  afcer  all,  we  have  much  the  same  journey  to  per- 
form as  you  have  imagined.  The  difference  is,  that 
we  do  not  go  on  foot,  we  ride. 

Frank.  Ride,  Mother!  How?  You  make  me 
laugh  in  my  turn. 

Mother.  On  the  earth.  That  is  our  carriage. 
We  go  round  once  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  as  when 
you  sailed  to  the  south,  the  mountains  seemed  to 
move  swiftly  to  the  north ;  so,  as  on  our  earth,  we 
whirl  round  like  a  great  top,  from  west  to  east,  the 
sun  seems  to  be  going  round  us  from  east  to  west. 
Speaking  of  a  top,  you  know  that  when  one  is  in  mo- 
tion, every  part  of  it  does  not  move  with  equal  swift- 
ness. The  outer  part  seems  to  move  as  around  an 
imaginary  line  in  the  centre.  This  is  its  axis.  The 
earth  also  has  an  axis,  around  which  it  moves.  This 
passes  from  the  north  to  the  south  pole.  You  know 
also  that  a  top,  while  it  is  turning  round  its  own 
axis,  moves  from  one  part  of  the  floor  to  the  other. 
So  tliQ  earth,  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  turning  on 
its  axis,  is  moving  round  the  sun  once  a  year.  In 
this  motion  the  earth  changes  in  a  small  degree  its 
relative  situation  to  the  sun,  so  that  his  rays  do  not 
fall  constantly  on  the  equator,  but  sometimes  on  the 
other  parts  of  the  earth's  surface  within  the  tropics. 
But  I  will  not  attempt  to  explain  this  to  you  until 
you  are  older.  At  present,  you  must  be  sometimes 
contented  to  learn  facts,  without  puzzling  yourself 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


83 


to  understand  the  reasons ;  as  what  you  would  now 
find  very  difficult,  you  will  find  easy  when  you  are 
older,  if  you  are  carefiil  to  learn  and  remember  what 
I  now  teach  you. 


LESSON  TWENTY-THIRD. 

EXPLANATION  OF  LATITUDE  CONTINUED.— ZONES  AND 
CLIMATES. 

Mother.  You  have  now  seen  that  in  going  from 
the  equator  to  either  pole,  there  are  two  places  where 
there  are  remarkable  changes  in  the  circumstances 
of  the  sun's  appearances.  The  first  is  where  he 
ceases  to  be  vertical.  The  tropics  are  here  drawn. 
The  second  is  where  he  begins  to  wheel  round  for  a 
whole  twenty-four  hours  at  the  summer  solstice, 
without  setting  ;  or  in  other  words,  where  the  inhab- 
itants do  not  have  day  and  night  every  tv/enty-four 
hours.  At  these  places  are  drav/n  the  polar  cir- 
cles. 

These  four  circles  divide  the  earth  into  five  une- 
qual parts,  called  Zones.  With  the  torrid  zone,  be- 
tween the  tropics,  you  are  already  acquainted. — 
Those  which  extend  from  the  tropics  to  the  polar 
circles,  are  called  the  Northern,  Temperate,  and 
Southern  Temperate  Zones.  That  reaching  from 
the  Arctic  circle  to  the  N.  Pole,  is  the  northern 
Frigid  zone.  That  extending  from  the  Antarctic 
circle  to  the  South  Pole,  is  the  Southern  Frigid 
zone. 

Now  take  your  map  and  tell  me  what  countries 
lire  in  the  Northern  Temperate  zone  ?  what  in  the 

H 


84 


GEOGRAPHY 


Southern  Temperate  ?  what  in  the  Northern  Frigid  ? 
What  do  you  observe  of  the  Southern  Frigid  zone  ? 

Concerning  the  chmates  of  phices,  it  is  a  general 
rule,  that  the  nearer  they  are  to  the  equator  the 
warmer  is  the  chmate  ;  to  this  rule,  however,  there 
are  some  exceptions,  which  you  will  learn  particular- 
ly when  you  take  a  more  extensive  course  of  geog- 
raphy. I  will  mention  only  two  ;  the  first  is,  that  it 
grows  colder  as  we  ascend  mountains.  Even  under 
the  equator,  the  highest  mountains  are  covered  with 
perpetual  snow.  Another  exception  to  the  general 
rule  is,  that  the  countries  in  Europe  are  warmer 
than  those  in  America,  at  the  same  distance  from 
the  equator. 

Near  the  equator,  the  heat  where  the  land  is  level, 
is  so  great  during  the  day,  that  it  is  dangerous 
even  to  the  natives  to  be  exposed  to  it  without  an 
umbrella,  or  other  shade.  The  ignorant  part  of  the 
natives  think  that  the  people  of  other  countries  are 
only  making  a  jest  of  them,  when  they  tell  them  that 
water  becomes  solid  from  cold.  They  have  no  sea- 
son like  our  winter,  and  little  other  change  except 
from  wet  to  dry.  The  climate  is  very  warm  in  those 
parts  of  the  temperate  zones  which  are  nearest  to 
the  torrid  zone.  In  going  towards  the  middle  of 
these  zones,  the  weather  becomes  temperate.  Going 
towards  the  polar  circles,  v/e  find  the  winters  are  in- 
tensely cold,  and  at  last  we  come  to  those  frozen  re- 
gions, round  the  poles,  where  no  living  thmg  has 
been  known  to  exist.  The  regions  round  the  equa- 
tor have  been  called  the  tropical,  or  hot  regions  ; 
next  to  these  the  warm  ;  next  the  temperate,  in  which 
we  live  ;  next  the  cold  ;  and  last  the  frozen. 

You  now  perceive  that  it  is  not  without  reason 
that  geographers  have  drawn  this  line  upon  the  earth, 
which  they  call  the  equator,  as  so  much  depends 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


85 


on  our  living  near  to  or  far  from  the  part  of  the  earth 
where  it  is  drawn. 

There  are  many  other  interesting  circumstances 
respecting  countries,  which  we  may  know  when  we 
know  their  distance  from  the  equator. 

Vegetable  productions  of  course,  differ  with  the 
climates,  and  therefore  with  the  distance  of  the  place 
from  the  equator.  The  hot  regions  produce  such 
fruits  as  oranges,  lemons,  pine-apples,  and  many 
others  equally  delicious.  The  sugar  cane  grows 
there,  and  the  coffee-plant,  and  the  cocoa-tree,  which 
bears  a  nut  from  which  chocolate  is  obtained.  The 
articles  called  spices,  are  also  from  these  regions ; 
such  as  cloves,  cinnamon,  nutmeg,  &;c. 

Next  to  these,  in  the  warm  countries,  the  wine- 
grape,  rice,  cotton,  indigo,  and  Indian  corn,  or 
maize,  is  found.  To  know  what  grows  in  the  tem- 
perate zones,  you  must  look  around  you  into  the 
fields.  What  do  you  perceive  in  looking  round 
you? 

Frank.  I  see  waving  fields  of  wheat,  rye,  oats, 
barley.  I  see  also  flax,  Indian  corn,  and  potatoes. 
Cherries  and  currants  are  nearly  gone.  Plums  and 
pears  are  ripe,  and  we  shall  have  a  great  supply  of 
apples  for  winter.  In  our  garden  too  we  have  beets, 
carrots,  peas,  beans,  cabbage,  onions,  and  melons. 
"We  have  also  plenty  of  grass,  which  I  suppose  grows 
every  where. 

Mother.  Oh  no !  as  you  go  towards  the  equator, 
the  fields,  instead  of  the  beautiful  green  here  pre- 
sented, appear  yellow  and  parched,  and  where  it  is 
very  hot,  the  grass  will  not  grow  at  all.  As  you  go 
towards  the  poles,  it  dwindles,  and  at  last  disap. 
pears.  Here,  also,  their  forest  trees  appear  stinted, 
and  at  last  we  come  to  where  all  vegetation  ceases. 

The  animals  also  vary  with  the  climates  of  places, 
and  consequenly  with  their  distances  from  the  equa- 


86 


GEOGRAPHY 


tor.  Some  animals  subsist  in  almost  all  latitudes 
where  cultivation  is  practicable,  and  the  inhabitants 
become  numerous.  You  can  tell  me  some  of  the 
most  useful  animals  which  are  found  in  the  temper- 
ate zones. 

Frank.  Those  with  which  we  are  best  acquaint, 
ed  are,  the  horse,  the  ox,  the  sheep,  the  swine,  the 
dog,  and  the  cat. 

Mother.  Yes.  And  besides  these  are  many  wild 
animals,  such  as  the  fox,  the  bear,  the  hare,  the 
deer,  the  rat,  the  mouse,  the  weasel  and  squirrel, 
which  are  found  in  all  habitable  latitudes.  The  fur 
of  the  same  animal  becomes,  however,  by  the  kind 
care  of  Him  whose  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his 
works,  warmer  and  thicker  as  the  climate  where 
they  live  becomes  colder.  It  also  becomes  white, 
which  you  will  find  when  you  study  chemistry  is 
better  for  them,  as  the  heat  of  their  bodies  is  not  so 
likely  to  escape.  You  saw  many  of  the  most  re- 
markable animals  of  other  countries,  in  the  collec- 
tion which  v/as  here  a  few  days  since. 

The  largest  and  most  beautiful  animals  are  found 
in  the  torrid  zone.  Some  of  them,  as  the  lion,  the 
tiger,  and  the  leopard,  are,  as  you  remember,  beau- 
tiful to  look  at,  but  they  are  so  fierce  and  dangerous 
that  they  cannot  be  tamed  by  man ;  while  the  ele- 
phant, the  camel,  the  dromedary,  the  ass  and  the 
mule,  are  beasts  of  burden,  and  are  as  useful  to  the 
inhabitants  of  those  countries  where  they  are  found, 
as  our  horses,  and  oxen,  and  sheep.  The  camels, 
and  mules,  and  dromedaries,  often  carry  great  quan- 
tities of  merchandize  across  large  countries  and 
deserts,  where  they  have  no  water  to  drink  for  sev- 
eral days. 

In  the  torrid  zone  are  also  found  many  poisonous 
reptiles,  some  of  which  are  of  an  enormous  size.— 
Among  these  are  the  crocodile  and  alligators  which 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


87 


are  found  on  the  banks  of  rivers,  and  stand  ready  to 
devour  the  incautious  traveller  ;  and  the  anaconda, 
the  largest  serpent  known,  vrhich  when  he  is  hungry, 
will  first  crush  large  and  powerful  animals,  by  coil- 
ing himself  around  them,  and  then  devour  them. 

The  rein-deer  and  the  dog,  are  used  in  extreme 
cold  regions  to  draw  sledges  over  the  snow  and  ice. 
The  rein-deer  is  found  near  the  frozen  ocean,  and 
supplies  the  natives  also  with  food  and  clothing.—- 
You  have  seen  in  your  little  library,  pictures  of  most 
of  these  animals,  from  which  you  have  doubtless  an 
idea  of  their  appearance.  As  you  become  older,  you 
must  read  in  larger  books  more  particular  accounts 
of  them. 


LESSON  TWENTY-FOURTH. 

EXPLANATION  OF  LATITUDE  CONTINUED. 

Frank.  Why  really,  I  find  that  so  many  impor- 
tant  things  depend  on  our  being  near  to  the  equa- 
tor, or  far  from  it,  that  I  should  think  one  of  the 
very  first  things  a  geographer  would  tell  us  concern- 
ing  a  country  would  be,  whether  it  was  near  the 
equator  or  at  a  distance  from  it ;  and  indeed,  I  should 
think  they  would  invent  some  way  to  tell  exactly  at 
what  distance  any  place  is  from  it. 

Mother.  This  very  thing  is  done,  and  I  am  glad 
you  have  comprehended  the  usefulness  of  it,  other- 
wise you  might  have  found  it  hard  to  learn.  As  it 
is  necessary  so  often  in  geography  to  mark  the  dis- 
tance  of  places  from  the  equator,  it  is  convenient  to 
have  one  word  which  expresses  it.  This  word  is 
one  which  we  have  already  used,  although  as  it  ap. 
H  2 


88 


GEOGEAPHY 


pears  without  your  fully  understanding  it.  It  is  lat- 
itude. 

Frank,  Indeed,  latitude  then,  v/hich  I  thought 
such  a  tedious  word,  signifies  distance  from  the 
equator. 

Mother.  Yes  ;  but  latitude  is  not,  however,  reck- 
oned  in  miles  from  the  equator,  but  in  degrees.  By 
simple  multiplication  you  can,  whenever  you  choose, 
change  degrees  into  miles.  Each  degree  is  about 
69^  miles,  and  there  are  between  the  equator  and 
either  pole,  ninety  degrees.  Each  degree  is  divided 
into  60  minutes,  so  that  a  minute  of  a  degree  is  a  lit- 
tle more  than  a  mile.  Minutes  are  marked  thus  (') 
23°  30'. 

In  the  same  way  too  you  may  find  out  how  far  it 
is  round  the  whole  earth,  or  which  is  the  same  things 
what  is  the  circumference  of  the  earth.  Multiply 
360°  by  691  ;  the  product  will  be  the  earth's  circum- 
ference. 

Frank.  So  then  if  you  should  say  a  place  is  in 
20  degrees  of  latitude,  that  means  that  it  is  twenty 
times  691-  miles  from  the  equator. 

Mother.  Yes ;  and  if  it  is  north  of  the  equator, 
it  is  said  to  be  in  north  latitude ;  if  south  in  south 
latitude.  Latitude  is  reckoned  on  a  line  drawn  di> 
rect  from  the  equator  each  way  to  both  the  poles. — 
Such  lines  are  called  meridians,  or  as  I  shall  pre- 
sently  explain  to  you,  lines  of  longitude. 

Now  take  the  map  of  the  world  and  learn  to  find 
the  latitudes  of  places  from  that.  The  outer  edge 
of  the  two  round  parts  representing  hemispheres, 
which  means  the  same  as  half  spheres,  or  half  globes, 
represents  the  meridian.  On  this  map  it  is  divided 
into  parts  each  representing  two  degrees.  Count 
them — you  will  find  five  between  each  of  the  num- 
bers marked  10,  20,  &;c.  Suppose  you  wished  to 
find  on  the  map  all  the  places  which  are  in  S.  lati- 


FOR  BEGO^'ESS. 


89 


tilde  25^.  Look  on  the  edge  of  the  map  between 
the  equator  and  the  S.  pole,  till  you  lind  20^,  then 
count  ofi  two  and  half  of  the  divisions,  which  will 
bring  you  25^  S.  latitude.  Xow  keep  your  finger 
along  halfway  betv.-een  the  parallels  20°  and  30^, 
and  all  the  places  it  passes  over  will  be  in  S.  lati- 
tude 25°.  Tracing  from  east  to  west,  your  finger 
first  passes  over  the  centre  of  New  Holland,  then 
through  the  Indian  ocean.  It  just  touches  the  S. 
part  of  3Iadagascar — passes  through  the  southern 
part,  of  Africa.  ZS'ov.-  you  must  tell  what  other  pla- 
ces you  would  pass  through  in  going  round  the  world 
in  S.  latitude  25=. 

"What  latitude  do  vre  live  in  ? 

You  must  not  only  trace  out  the  countries,  islands, 
ifcc.  on  this  parallel,  but  you  must  faithtiilly  commit 
them  to  memorv. 


UESSON  TWEXTY-FIFTH, 

LATITUDES  OF  PLACES. 

Mother.  Xovr  you  understand  the  nature  of  lati- 
tude,  you  must  learn  the  latitudes  of  the  continents 
-  and  their  large  divisions.    Begin  with  South  Amer- 
ica. 

Franli.  Bui  that  extends  so  far  trom  norih  to 
south,  that  it  is  in  a  great  many  ditferent  latitudes. 

Mother.  Yes.  but  you  only  'learn  what  parallels 
of  latitude  it  lies  between.  If  we  find  the  extreme 
northern  part  of  a  country,  and  the  extreme  south- 
ern  part,  and  trace  them  to  the  outer  edge  of  the 
map,  these  will  be  the  latitude  sought.  Pface  vour 
finger  on  the  extreme  northern  pail  of  S.  America, 


90 


GEOGRAPHY 


now  move  your  finger  eastward,  as  you  come  to  the 
edge  of  the  map  soonest  by  tracing  in  that  direction. 
Now  you  have  come  to  the  edge  of  the  map,  you 
find  12°  N.  of  the  equator.  The  northern  part  of 
S.  America  is  then  in  N.  latitude  12°.  Now  place 
your  finger  on  Cape  Horn,  which  is  commonly  reck- 
oned the  southern  extremity  of  the  continent,  aU 
though  in  reality  it  is  the  southern  extremity  of  an 
Island.  You  perceive  it  is  between  two  parellels  of 
latitude,  but  a  little  nearer  to  the  S.  than  to  the  N, 
one.  Trace  east  and  keep  the  same  proportional 
distance  between  the  two.  Now  you  are  at  the  edge 
of  the  map,  you  find  the  parallel  nearest  the  equator 
is  50°.  Cape  Horn  is  then  six  degrees  more  south 
of  the  equator  than  the  parallel  50°,  that  is,  it  is  in 
S.  latitude  56°.  South  America  then  lies  between 
N.  latitude  12°  and  S.  latitude  56°. 

Now  find  by  the  same  method  the  latitude  of  N. 
Atnerica,  of  Europe,  of  Asia,  of  New  Holland,  of 
Africa.  I  have  marked  the  tracing  on  the  map  to 
make  your  task  easier,  in  all  these  cases,  except  Af- 
rica  and  New  Holland,  the  latitudes  of  which  are 
easy  to  be  found. 

What  is  the  latitude  of  the  United  States  ?  I  have 
sketched  on  your  map  the  parallels  between  which 
it  lies.  What  are  the  principal  countries  which  lie 
in  the  same  latitude  as  the  United  States  ?  What 
countries  are  between  the  same  parallels  south  lati- 
tude ?  These  parallels  are  also  traced  on  your  map. 
Find  the  same  latitude  south  which  we  live  in  north, 
and  the  people  will  have  the  same  kind  of  climate. 
They  will  see  the  sun  in  the  north  exactly  as  we  see 
it  in  the  south,  and  their  winter  will  be  when  it  is 
our  summer.  What  countries  will  this  line  pass 
through  ? 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


91 


LESSON  TWENTY-SIXTH. 

LONGITUDE. 

Frank.  I  see  on  the  map  lines  running  up  and 
down— that  is  from  north  to  south.  ;  I  suppose  these 
are  not  real  lines  found  on  the  earth,  any  more  than 
the  lines  of  latitude.  Will  you  explain  to  me  what 
these  lines  are  called,  and  why  they  are  drawn  ? 

Mother.  They  are  called  the  meridians  of  the 
places  through  which  they  pass,  as  they  are  drawn 
on  the  earth  directly  under  the  meridian  of  the 
heavens,  as  it  appears  to  the  inhabitants  of  those 
places.  Any  one  of  them  passes  through  all  the  pla- 
ces which  have  noon  at  the  same  instant.  Those 
places  east  of  us  have  nOon  sooner  than  we,  those 
west  of  us  later. 

The  lines  of  longitude  are  drawn  on  this  map  of 
the  world  ten  degrees  distant  from  each  other.  Sup- 
pose we  live  where  one  of  these  lines  is  drawn,  then 
the  people  who  live  under  the  next  line  towards  the 
east,  are  said  to  be  ten  degrees  of  longitude  east  of 
us,  and  those  who  live  under  the  one  next  towards 
the  west,  are  ten  degrees  west  longitude  from  us. — 
But  we  cannot  all  have  our  own  meridian  of  longi- 
tude to  reckon  from.  This  would  make  great  con- 
fusion in  the  science  of  geography.  It  is  much  bet- 
ter  that  we  should  all  agree  upon  some  one.  Many 
of  the  learned  have  agreed  to  call  that  meridian 
which  passes  through  the  city  of  London,  the  first 
meridian,  and  of  course  to  reckon  the  longitude  of 
other  places  east  or  west  according  as  their  meridi- 
an is  east  or  west  from  this.  Look  on  the  map. — 
Here  is  London,  which  is,  on  the  whole,  the  most 
important  city  in  the  world.  Here  is  the  meridian 
which  passes  through  it.  Tracing  it  south  we  come 
to  the  equator.    Here  we  find  a  cypher.  fiThat 


92 


GEOGRAPHY 


means  that  the  places  under  this  line  have  no  longi- 
tude,  just  as  those  under  the  equator  have  no  lati- 
tude. Now  look  east,  you  find  on  the  equator,  un- 
der the  next  hne,  10.  That  is,  all  places  under  this 
line  are  in  east  longitude  ten. — Now  observe  the 
same  in  going  west.  The  next  to  the  tens  are  twen- 
ties each  way,  and  so  on  till  going  east  from  the  me- 
ridian of  London  half  way  round  the  globe,  and 
west  half  round,  we  at  last  meet  atJl8P°,  the  great- 
est longitude  that  any  place  can  have. 

Longitude  then  is  a  distance  from  any  fixed  me- 
ridian reckoned  east  and  west  on  the  equator.  The 
meridian  assumed  or  agreed  on  as  the  first,  is  that 
of  London.  Now  let  me  see  if  you  understand  what 
I  have  been  teaching  you — take  your  map.  You 
must  now  learn  the  longitude  of  the  principal  divi- 
sions of  the  earth.  Begin  with  South  America. — 
Find  its  most  easterly  extremity,  Cape  St.  Roque, 
and  trace  from  it  to  the  equator.  You  find  a  line 
drawn  from  it  north  to  the  equator,  cuts  about  half 
way  from  30°  to  40°.  Of  course  its  longitude  is 
35°.  Now  find  the  most  westerly  extremity.  Cape 
Blanco,  and  trace  that  to  the  equator  in  the  same 
manner.  Here  the  equator  is  cut  about  one  degree 
west  of  eighty,  which  makes  its  longitude  eighty  on^e. 
South  America  is  then  between  35°  and  81°  West 
longitude. 

Now  take  North  America,  and  find  its  longitude 
in  the  same  manner.  Next  take  the  divisions  of 
the  eastern  continent.  Begin  with  Africa,  as  that 
is  the  easiest.  As  the  meridian  of  London  passes 
through  it,  it  is  part  in  E.  longitude,  and  part  in  W, 

Say  therefore,  Africa  lies  between  degrees  E. 

longitude,  and  degrees  W.  from  the  meridian 

of  London.  The  same  form  of  describing  the  lon- 
gitude is  proper  also  for  Europe,  as  that  Hes  partly 
in  E.  longitude  from  the  meridian  of  London,  and 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


93 


partly  in  W.  It  is  difficult  to  describe  the  longitude 
of  Asia,  and  I  will  assist  you  in  the  description,  and 
not,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  describe  for  you  as 
long  as  every  thing  is  plain,  and  desert  you  when  we 
come  to  a  real  difficulty.  First  find  the  longitude 
of  the  western  extremity.  There  is  no  difficulty  in 
this.  Now  find  the  eastern  extremity  of  Asia.  In 
looking  for  this,  you  must  remember  that  the  parts 
of  the  map  most  distant,  represent  parts  of  the  earth's 
surface  which  belong  together.  A  part  of  Asia  then 
you  find  on  wnat  in  this  map  is  set  down  on  the 
western  hemisphere.  By  tracing  easterly  upon  it, 
you  find  Icy  Cape,  the  eastern  extremity  of  Asia. — 
Carry  your  finger  as  directed,  to  the  equator.  There 
you  find  that  you  have  passed  by  all  the  degrees  of 
E.  longitude,  and  ten  degrees  of  W.  longitude  to 
170°.  So  that  at  first  thought  you  would  say  that 
Asia  lies  between  E.  longitude  26°  and  W.  longi- 
tude  170 — but  that  would  be  to  assert  that  Asia 
passes  through  all  those  degrees  of  longitude  where 
it  is  not.  We  must  then  find  some  other  form  of 
words  to  express  truly  the  longitude  of  Asia.  I  will 
give  you  two  methods  of  describing  it,  of  which  you 
may  take  your  choice. 

Asia  extends  from  the  25th  degree  E.  from  Lon- 
don, through  all  the  degrees  of  E.  longitude,  and 
ten  degrees  of  W.  longitude,  to  ITO''  W.  Or  you 
may  say,  as  all  who  understood  the  subject  will  know 
why,  that  Asia  extends  from  25°  to  190°  E.  longi- 
tude  from  London,  although  by  our  definition  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  190°  E.  longitude — longitude 
being  reckoned  each  v/ay  from  the  meridian  to  180°. 

What  is  the  longitude  of  New  Holland  ?  You 
must  now  tell  what  is  the  latitude  and  longitude  of 
the  Eastern  continent  1  the  Western  ?  of  North 
America?  of  S.America?  of  Europe  ?  Asia?  Afri^ 
ca  ?  New  Holland  ? 


94 


GEOGRAPHY 


You  will  recollect  that  all  the  people  who  live  un- 
der  the  same  meridian,  have  noon  at  the  same  time. 
It  is  now  noon  here.  Tell  me  from  your  map  at 
what  other  places  it  is  noon. 

At  what  place  is  it  noon  at  the  same  instant  as 
at  London  ? 

If  a  place  lies  fifteen  degrees  of  longitude  E.  of 
us,  it  has  noon  just  one  hour  earlier  thati  we  do,  and 
when  it  is  noon  here  it  is  one  o'clock  there,  and  so 
through  the  whole  twenty-four  hours-  So  that  peo- 
pie  east  of  us  have  the  same  hou.j  before  us,  and 
those  west  of  us  have  the  same  hours  later. 

Suppose  it  is  now  noon  here.  It  is  one  o'clock 
to  all  living  under  a  meridian  15°  E. — 15°  further 
E.  will  make  30°  E,  of  us.  In  that  longitude  it  is 
now  two  o'clock. 

In   60°  E.  from  us  it  is  4  o'clock. 
In    90  "  6         about  sunset 

In  120  "  8  " 

In  150  "  10  " 

In  180  "  12    "    and  it  is  midnight 

while  it  is  noon  with  us, — and  this  you  perceive  is 
under  the  meridian  exactly  opposite  on  the  globe  to 
ours.  It  is  always  the  case,  that  when  it  is  noon  un- 
der any  meridian,  it  is  midnight  at  all  the  places  un- 
der the  opposite  meridian. 

Frank.  What  you  have  now  taught  me,  has  giv- 
en me  many  new  and  pleasant  ideas.  I  thought 
that  twelve  o'clock,  or  one,  must  be  the  same  instant 
all  over  the  world  ;  but  now  I  find  that  it  is  every 
hour  in  the  twenty-four  in  some  parts  of  the  earth, 
I  recollect  I  heard  a  story  once  of  a  gentleman  go- 
ing  to  a  foreign  country,  who  had  a  fancy  to  look  at 
a  bright  star  every  evening,  at  the  same  moment, 
with  a  certain  lady  whom  he  left  behind  him,  and 
they  agreed  to  look  at  it  at  nine  o'clock.  But  it 
seems  if  the  gentleman  travelled  E.  30^,  he  would 
view  it  sooner  than  the  lady  by  two  hours. 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


95 


LESSON  TAVENTY^SEVENTII. 
PART  I. 

BAYS,  GULFS,  STRAITS,  MOUNTAINS,  RIVERS,  &c.  ON  THE 
MAP  OF  THE  WORLD. 

Mother,  Your  next  lesson  will  conimence  with 
the  seas,  bays,  &;c.  on  the  map  of  the  world. 

How  is  the  western  continent  divided?  What 
part  of  the  eastern  continent  is  called  Asia  ?  What 
part  is  called  Europe  ?  What  Africa  ?  Yv^hat  are  the 
principal  Seas  of  Europe  1  Under  the  general  name 
of  seas,  I  mean  to  include  bays,  gulfs,  &c.  What 
are  the  principal  seas  of  America?  of  Asia?  of  Af- 
rica ? 

By  what  strait  does  the  Mediterranean  Sea  com- 
municate with  the  Atlantic  ?  the  Red  Sea  with  the 
Indian  Ocean  ?  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  with  the  At- 
lantic, N.  of  the  Island  of  Newfoundland. 

Where  is  Baffin's  Bay  ?  Davis'  Strait  ?  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence  ?  of  Mexico  ?  of  California  ?  Where 
are  Beering's  Straits  ? 

Where  is  the  Carribean  Sea  ?  the  Straits  of  Ma- 
gellan ? 

Describe  the  situation  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea 
— the  Gulf  of  Guinea — Mozambique  Channel — Red 
Sea — Sea  of  Arabia — of  Bengal — Chinese  Sea — 
Gulf  of  Siam— Yellow  Sea— Gulf  of  Corea— Sea  of 
Okotsk. 

You  have  already  learned  the  principal  mountains 
of  our  own  country  and  of  Europe.  You  can  now 
pay  your  attention  to  those  of  the  other  grand  divis- 
ions  of  the  world.  Wliat  mountains  do  you  find  on 
your  map  of  Asia  ?  Of  Africa  ?  Describe  them. — 
What  mountains  extend  along  the  western  coast  of 
South  America  ?  The  range  which  extends  along 
I 


96 


GEOGRAPHY 


the  western  coast  of  North  America,  called  the 
Rocky  or  Chippewan  mountains,  may  be  considered 
as  a  continuation  of  the  Andes.  This  great  Amer- 
ican chain  is  the  only  one  which  extends  several 
thousands  miles  in  a  single  line.  The  highest  peaks 
of  this  chain  are  Cotapaxi  and  Chimborazo,  which 
are  volcanoes,  near  Quito  in  South  America,  Popo- 
catapetl  in  Mexico ;  James  Peak,  near  the  sources 
of  the  Arkansaw  and  La  Platte  Rivers,  in  N.  Amer- 
ica; and  Mt.  St.  Elias  and  Mt.  Fairweather,  near 
its  termination  at  the  Northwest  coast. 

Now  we  will  compare  the  principal  ranges  of 
mountains  in  the  world.  Here  is  a  list  in  which 
they  are  set  down  according  to  their  length.  The 
Allegany  range,  the  most  remarkable  in  our  own 
country,  is  taken  as  a  measure  for  the  others. 

The  whole  American  chain,  extending  from  Cape 
Horn  to  Mt.  St.  Elias,  is  thirteen  times  the  length 


of  the  Allegany. 

Mexican  and  Rocky  mountains,  8 

Altain  mountains,  6 

Andes,  5 

Mountains  of  the  Moon,  2 

Mount  Atlas  If 

Ural,  H 

Dofrafield,  1 

Allegany,  1 

Alps,  I 

Carpathian,  i 

Green  mountains,  i 

Pyrenees,  i 

Describe  the  great  American  chain.  How  many 

times  the  length  of  the  Allegany,  is  it  ?  In  the  same 
manner  describe  the  others.  v 


Comparative  height  of  Mountains, 


98 


GEOGRAPHY 


I  have  introduced  a  little  comparative  view  of  the 
principal  mountains  in  the  world,  as  to  their  height. 
You  probably  know  the  situation  of  most  of  them. 
Mount  Washington,  which  you  recollect  is  the  high- 
est point  of  land  in  the  United  States,  is  made  the 
standard  or  measure  mountain.  Its  height  is  6,634 
feet,  or  about  one  mile  and  a  quarter.  Learn  from 
this  engraving,  (as  the  picture  will  assist  you  to  re- 
member,) which  are  the  highest  mountains  in  the 
world,  and  what  is  their  height  in  comparison  with 
Mount  Washington.  What  mountains  are  of  less 
elevation  than  the  measure  mountain?  What 
mountains  are  greater  in  height  ?  How  many  times 
higher  than  Mount  Washington  is  Dhawalagiri,  the 
highcGt  known  mountain  Learn  the  comparative 
heights  of  the  several  principal  mountains  in  the 
world.  What  are  the  principal  volcanoes  ?  Which 
of  them  are  higher  than  Mount  Washington  ? 

An  isthmus  is  a  neck  of  land  joining  large  portions 
of  the  earth. 

"The  principal  isthmuses  in  the  world  are  those  of 
Darien — Suez.    Where  are  they  ? 

The  most  noted  capes  in  the  world  are  probably 
those  of  Cape  Horn  and  Good  Hope.  Navigators 
are  obliged  to  take  very  long  voyages  to  pass  round 
them.  When  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States 
wish  to  send  ships  to  the  shores  of  Mexico  and 
Peru,  they  are  obliged  to  sail  round  or  double  Cape 
Horn.  And  when  Europeans  wish  to  visit  the  East 
Indies,  which  is  a  general  name  for  China  and  the 
islands  near  it,  they  are  obhged  to  double  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  ;  that  is  to  sail  round  it. 

Frank.  If  canals  could  be  cut  across  the  isth- 
muses of  Darien  and  Suez,  what  a  saving  of  time  in 
voyages  would  be  made  ! 

Mother,  It  is  probable  that  there  will  be  such 
canals  in  the  course  of  a  few  years. 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


99 


The  other  remarkable  capes,  whose  situations  I 
wish  you  here  to  learn,  are, — On  the  Western  Conti- 
nent — Cape  Farewell,  Cape  Florida,  St.  Roque, 
Blanco,  St.  Lucas,  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  and  Alas- 
ka, which  is  a  promontory  or  high  rocky  point  of 
land  running  into  the  sea. 

On  the  Eastern  Continent — North  Cape,  Cape 
Finisterre,  St.  Vincent,  Cape  Verd,  Guardafui,  Co- 
morin^ 

Here  are  the  names  of  the  principal  rivers  in  the 
world.  You  must  learn  to  describe  each  one  sepa- 
rately,  whether  I  ask  them  to  you  in  the  order  in 
which  I  have  set  them  down,  or  in  any  other  order. 
Indeed  I  shall  be  careful  not  to  question  you  in  the 
same  manner  at  each  lesson.  When  I  am  satisfied 
that  you  can  describe  them  singly,  I  shall  give  you 
different  questions,  as  I  did  while  you  were  on  the 
map  of  the  United  States  ;  such  as  what  are  the 
rivers  in  a  particular  country,  or  what  are  those 
that  discharge  their  waters  into  a  particular  sea  or 
ocean.  You  must  not  forget  to  learn  how  their  size 
compares  with  that  which  the  New  England  people 
call  the  Great  River. 

Rivers  of  N.  America  ;  Coppermine,  Nelson,  St. 
Lawrence,  Ottawas,  Mississippi,  Red,  Arkansaw, 
Ohio,  Missouri,  Rio  Del  Norte,  Colorado,  Columbia, 
Clark's,  Lewis',  Mackenzie's. 

Rivers  of  S.  America  ;  Oronoco,  Amazon, 
Negro,  Madeira,  Topayos,  Xingu,  Tocantines,  St. 
Francisco,  Paraguay,  Panama,  Pilcomayo,  and  Sal- 
ado.  The  streams  which  take  their  rise  in  the  An- 
des and  flow  west,  are  numerous,  but  their  currents 
are  rapid,  because  they  rise  in  such  high  land,  and 
they  are  short,  because  the  ocean  is  so  near  the 
mountains. 

Learn  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Lawrence, — the  Mississippi. 

I  2 


100 


GEOGRAPHY 


In  Europe,  the  largest  rivers  are  the  Wolga,  the 
Danube,  the  Dnieper,  the  Dniester,  and  Don. 

Large  rivers  of  Asia  ;  Tigris,  Euphrates,  Indus, 
Ganges,  Burrampooter,  Irrawady,  Mecon,  Kiangku, 
Hoangho,  Amour,  Lena,  Yenesei,  Oby,  Irtish,  To- 
bol,  Ural. 

Rivers  of  Africa  ;  Nile,  Niger,  Senegal,  Gambia, 
Zaire,  Oliphants,  Orange,  Cuama. 

PART  II.  :  I,  / 

Describe  the  boundaries  of  Europe — of  Asia— of 
Africa — of  North  America — of  South  America. 

You  must  next  learn  the  boundaries  of  the  coun- 
tries  of  each  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  I  shall  ask 
questions  concerning  them  much  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  I  did  the  United  States.  What  are  those  of 
North  America  which  lie  along  the  east  coast  on 
the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  ? 

Greenland  was  formerly  supposed  to  be  a  penin- 
sula  United  to  North  America,  but  late  discoveries 
render  it  probable  that  it  is  an  island.  It  is  a  cold 
and  barren  region  with  a  few  scattered  inhabitants. 
Where  is  Greenland  ? 

What  is  the  most  southerly  country  of  N.  Ameri- 
ca ? 

A  tract  of  land  on  the  N.  W.  coast  is  claimed  by 
Russia.  All  the  countries  north  of  the  U.  States, 
except  this,  are  British  provinces.  The  governor  is 
not  chosen  by  the  people,  as  our  governors  are,  but 
is  sent  over  from  Great  Britain  by  the  king. 

Formerly  Mexico  and  a  part  of  the  countries  of 
South  America  were  under  the  government  of 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


101 


S|3ain,  but  their  inhabitants  determined  to  be  free 
and  independent,  hke  those  of  the  United  States. 
They  fought  the  troops  sent  against  them  by  the 
Spanish,  and  conquered  them  ;  and  now  they  are 
no  longer  subject  to  that  country  ;  but  they  are  stili 
in  an  unsettled  state  respecting  their  government. 
Colombia  (which  includes  New  Grenada  and  Vene- 
zuela),  Buenos  Ayres,  Peru,  and  Chilis  are  called 
the  South  American  Republics. 

Give  the  boundaries  of  these  countries. — Of  Bra- 
zil— -of  Guiana — of  Patagonia.  The  extent  of  these 
countries  cannot  at  present  be  ascertained  with  ac= 
curacy. 

Brazil  was  formerly  a  colony  of  Portugal,  but  the 
king  of  Portugal,  when  times  were  troublesome  in 
Europe,  removed  to  Brazil,  and  there  held  his  court. 
A  king's  family  and  visitors  are  thus  called.  The 
government  of  Brazil  is  therefore  a  monarchy,  but  I 
shall  not  at  present  dwell  on  the  subject  of  govern- 
ment. 

Having  studied  the  map  of  Europe,  you  can,  I 
presume,  tell  me  the  principal  countries  in  the  order 
of  their  size.  Russia  in  Europe  is  the  largest  and 
the  most  north-easterly  country  of  Europe.  Sweden, 
the  next  in  size,  lies  round  the  north  part  of  the 
Baltic  Sea,  and  is  14  times  less  in  size  than  the 
United  States. 

Describe  the  situation  of  the  whole  Russian  em- 
pii'e,  and  give  its  comparative  size. 

The  Chinese  Empire  includes  China  proper,  Chi- 
nese Tartary  and  Thibet.  Between  what  countries 
is  the  Chinese  wall  ?  Where  are  these  countries  ? 
Give  the  boundaries  of  Turkey,  Arabia,  Persia, 
East  Persia,  Hmdostan,  Birmah,  Tonkin,  Indepen- 
dent Tartary.-  Which  of  these  countries  he  on  the 
waters  of  the  Indian  Ocean  ? — -which  on  the  Pacific  ? 


102 


GEOGRAPHY 


Which  are  peninsulas?  Europe  and  Asia  have 
each  three  peninsulas  on  the  south. 

In  what  part  of  Africa  are  the  Barbary  states  ? 
They  are  Morocco,  Fez,  Algiers,  Tunis,  Tripoli 
and  Barca.  In  what  order  have  I  named  them? 
Where  is  Fezzan  ?  Give  the  boundaries  of  Egypt, 
Nubia,  Abyssinia,  Soudan  or  Nigritia.  Where  is 
Upper  Guinea?  What  are  the  different  portions  of 
this  coast  called?  Where  is  Senegambia?  Ash- 
antee  ?  What  small  countries  east  of  this  ?  Where 
is  Lower  Guinea?  What  small  countries  does  it 
include  ?  Where  is  Ethiopia  ?  The  Great  Desert 
of  Sahara  ?  The  coast  of  Zanguebar  ?  The  coun- 
try of  the  Hottentots  ? 

The  English  colony  of  Sierra  Leone,  and  the 
American  colony  of  Liberia,  were  established  by 
those  governments  as  places  of  resort  for  recaptured 
and  emancipated  slaves,  and  free  Africans  who  wish 
to  become  civilized.    Where  are  these  colonies  ? 

I  shall  now  give  you  another  exercise  on  the 
countries.  Here  is  a  table  in  which  they  are  ar- 
ranged in  the  order  of  their  population,  and  com- 
pared with  the  United  States,  which  is  here  reckon- 
ed at  10  millions. 

When  I  question  you  on  the  population,  I  expect 
you  will  also  give  me  some  account  of  the  situation 
of  each  country,  which  you  can  readily  do,  if  you 
have  learned  the  maps  as  perfectly  as  I  wished. 
For  example  :  what  countries  have  the  same  num- 
ber of  inhabitants  as  the  United  States  ?  Spain,  a 
south-westerly  peninsula  of  Europe ;  Arabia,  a 
south-v/esterly  peninsula  of  Asia ;  Prussia,  the  most 
northerly  country  of  Europe,  &;c. 

What  countries  have  more  than  twice  the  number 
of  inhabitants  belonging  to  the  United  Sates,  and 
what  is  the  comparative  number  of  each  ? 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


103 


What  countries  have  less  than  twice  but  more  than 
once  the  number,  &c.  ? 

In  the  same  manner  learn  the  whole  table. 

Comparison  of  Counh^ies  with  the  United  States  in 
respect  to  population,  that  of  the  U.  States 
being  reckoned  at  ten  millions. 


o  o 


S  «  S 

es  r;  3 

re's 


3S 


i§3 


QJ  H  j3 


20 
to  tlie 


H 

3 
2 


Asia  has  40  times  as  many  inhabitants  as  the 

United  States. 

Chinese  Empire  

Half  of  the  inhabitants  of  Asia  belong 

Chinese  Empire. 
Europe  ...... 

Africa  

Whole  Russian  Empire 
Russia  in  Europe  .... 

France  

Austria  

Kin^^dom  of  Great  Britain  . 

North  America  

Tonquin  

South  America  

Morocco  

Burman  Empire  .... 

East  Persia  

Italy  ....... 

England  and  Wales    .      ,      .  . 
United  States  ..... 

Spain  ....... 

Prussia  ...... 

Arabia  ...... 

West  Persia  

Turkey  in  Asia  

Asiatic  Russia  ,  .  .  .  , 
Turkey  in  Europe  .... 

Mexico  

Ireland        .      .  ... 
Netherlands  


1| 


104  GEOGRAPHY 


5H  O 


Portugal 
Egypt  . 
Tunis 
Poland 
Brazil  . 
Sweden 
^  Abyssinia 
La  Plata 
Scotland 
Denmark 
Switzerland 
Algiers 
New-York  . 
Guatimala  . 
Pennsylvania 
Virginia 
Chili 
Tripoli 
Venezuela 
Norway 
North  Carolina 
Ohio 
Kentucky 
Massachusetts 
South  Carolina  . 
Canada       .      .  , 
Tennessee  . 
Maryland  . 
Georgia 

Maine  .... 

New-Jersey 

Connecticut 

New  Hampshire  . 

Vermont 

Louisiana  . 

Indiana 

Alabama 

Rhode  Island 

Mississippi   .  . 

Delaware 

Missouri 

Illinois  .... 
District  of  Columbia  . 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


105 


I.ESSON  TWENTY-EIGHTH. 

PRINCIPAL  CITIES  ON  THE  MAP  OF  THE  WORLD. 

You  may  now  learn  from  the  map  of  the  world, 
the  principal  cities  of  Asia,  Africa,  South  America, 
and  Mexico,  taking  each  country  separately,  in  the 
same  manner  that  you  learned  those  of  Europe. 
You  will  then  have  learned  the  situation  of  the 
principal  cities  of  the  world.  I  am  now  going  to 
give  you  an  exercise  which  will  require  some  time 
to  learn  ;  in  which  they  are  arranged  according  to 
their  size,  and  their  population  compared  with  that 
of  New- York,  which  you  recollect  was  167,000. 
You  will  place  them  upon  your  map  in  the  manner 
you  have  before  been  directed,  and  in  pointing  to  a 
city  or  town,  mention  the  number  of  inhabitants, — 
how  it  compares  with  New- York,  and  to  what  class 
it  belongs.  I  shall  also  ask  such  questions  as  the 
following  :  What  are  the  cities  of  the  world  which 
are  of  the  first  rank  or  class  ?  Where  is  each  one 
situated,  and  what  is  its  size  compared  with  New- 
York  ?    Learn  in  this  way  every  class  in  the  table. 


106 


GEOGRAPHY 


Cities  compared  with  New-  York  in  respect  to  popula- 
tion, that  of  New-  York  being  reckoned  at 
167,000,  or  I  of  a  million.^ 


First  Class, 
contains  more  than  6 
,   times  the  number. 
Pekin   contains    18    times  as 
many  inhabitants  as  New- 
York. 

Nankin,  12 
Canton,  9 
Lon'don,  61 
Jed  do,  6 
Hang-tcheou  6 

Second  Class, 
less  than  6,  but  more  than 
3  times 

Paris,  }  4 

Calcutta,  V 

Ben  a  res,  1l 

Con  Stan  ti  no  pie,  t  3 

Mi  a  CO,  f 

Su  rat,  J 

Third  Class. 

Is  pa  han', 
Na  pies, 
Mos  cow, 
Ca  i  ro, 
Ma  dras, 
Pe  ters  burgh. 


I  Fourth  Class, 

I  Aleppo, 

!  Lis  bon, 

,  Vi  enna, 

I  Am  ster  dam, 

Madrid, 

Ca  bul, 

Al  giera, 

Fifth  Class. 
Dub  lin, 

Um  me  ra  poo  ra, 
Ber  lin, 
Bom  bay', 
Glas  gow. 
Cash  mere, 
La  hore, 
Smyr  na, 
Rio  Janei  ro, 

Sixth  Class. 

Pa  ler  mo, 

Mex  i  CO, 

Phil  a  del  phi  a, 

Mi  Ian', 

Rome, 

Bar  ce  lo  na. 

Ham  burg, 

Va  len  cia. 


o 
cs 

'  .  OS 

°  1 


5-w 


2« 


*  In  this  table  the  classification  corresponds  with  that  in  Wood- 
bridge's  and  Willard's  Geography.  The  mean  number  of  the 
class  is  found  and  the  comparison  then  made  with  New- York,  that 
being  reckoned  167,000,  so  that  in  each  class  the  middle  cities  are 
the  most  strictly  correct.  Those  above  are  somewhat  larger  than 
is  expressed  by  the  ratio  fixed  upon,  and  those  below  somewhat 
smaller.  Yet,  the  whole  is  sufficiently  correct  for  the  purposes  of 
general  information.  If  particular  knowledge  of  r.ny  place  is 
needed,  resort  can  be  had  to  a  gazeteer.  The  subject  of  popula- 
tion is  that  of  all  others  in  geography  most  fluctuating,  and  the 
most  difficult  for  obtaining  absolute  certainty. 


FOH  BEGINNERS. 


107 


Sixth  Class. — Contiru 


Co  pen  ha  gen, 
Ed  in  burgh, 
Mar  seilles 
Tom  buc  too, 
Housa, 
Ven  ice, 
A  dri  an  o  pie, 
Liv  er  pool, 
Ly  ons, 
Man  ches  ter, 
St.  Sal  va  dor, 
Del  hi. 
He  rat, 
Fez, 
Tu  nis, 

Seventh  Class. 

Bour  deaux, 
Cork— Tu  rin, 
Bir  ming  ham, 
Prague, 
Rou  en, 
Se  ville, 
Brus  sels, 
Bris  tol, 
Gen  0  a, 
Stock  holm, 
rior  ence, 
Nantes, 
O  por  to. 
Bo  logn  a, 
Ca  diz, 
Sa  Ion  i  ca, 
Ha  van  na, 
Qui  to, 
As  tra  chan. 


.s 

s-  O 

1  ^ 
03 


Eighth  Class. 


Se  rai 
War  saw, 
Bres  law, 
Bal  ti  more. 
Ant  werp, 
Lisle, 
Ghent, 


<1 


Eighth  Class. ^Contin 

Mu  nich, 
Gua  nax  u  a  to, 
Biien  OS  Ayres, 
Te  her  an, 
Bu  cha  rest, 
Ve  ro  na, 
Plym  outh, 
Rot  ter  dam, 
Konigsburg, 
Sar  a  gos  sa, 
Li  ma, 
Mai  a  ga, 

Gren  a  da— Leghorn, 
Po  to  si, 
Gon  dar, 
3Io  roc  CO, 
Bas  so  ra, 
Treb  i  zond, 
Ca  ta  ne  a, 
Dant  zic, 
Lim  er  iek, 
Sophia, 
Liege, 
Dres  den, 

Ninth  Class. 


Tou  louse, 

Frank  fort, 

Ba  ta  vi  a, 

Sant  i  a  go, 

hem  burg, 

Bos  ton, 

Hague, 

A  rai  ens, 

Cron  stadt, 

St.  Salvador, 

San  ta  Fe  Bo  go  ta, 

Bath, 

Bre  men, 

Riga 

Tri  este,  , 
Leeds, 
New  cas  tie, 
O  des  sa, 


108 


GEOGRAPHY 


Ninth  Class— Contin. 
Cag  li  a  ri,  ) 
Ran  goon,  S 

Tenth  Class. 

Ab  er  deen, 
Leip  sic, 
Cus  CO, 

Se  rin  ga  pa  tarn, 
Mont  pe  lier, 
Je  ru  &a  lem, 
Mog  a  dore, 
Ca  rac  cas, 
Cuy  a  ha, 
Bei  fast, 
Cler  mont, 
Mes  si  na. 
Valla  do  lid, 
Ar  e  qui  pa, 
Toulon, 
New  Or  le  ans, 
Car  tha  ge  na, 
Gen  e  va, 
Cra  cow, 
A  bo  mey, 
To  le  do, 
Bei  grade, 
Han  o  ver, 
Got  ten  burg. 

Eleventh  Class, 

Orenburg, 

Cu  ma  na, 

Brest, 

Pres  burgy 

Tours, 

Ratisbon, 

Ha  vre, 

Hull, 

Wil  na, 

Per  nam  bu  co, 

Cor  do  va, 

Car  thage  na,  S.  A. 

Par  a  ma  ri  bo, 

Vil  la  Ri  ca, 

Al  ex  an  dri  a,  (Egypt) 


O  I 


Eleventh  Class— Contin. 
Gua  ti  ma  la,  "l 
Vera  Cruz,  j 
To  bolsk,  y 
Mec  ca— Mo  cha,  ! 
Teflis,  j 

Twelfth  Class, 

Ja  ro  slav, 
Perth, 
Sy  ra  cuse. 
Cape  town, 
Al  i  cant, 
York, 
Que  bee, 
Guay  a  quil, 
Man  te  Vi  de 
St.  Paul, 
Hal  ifaxy 
Ber  gen, 
Bil  bo  a, 
In  ver  ness, 

Thirteenth  Class. 


it 


Tan  gier, 
Trip  o  li, 
Jas  sey, 
Carls  cro  na, 
Sal  a  man  ca, 
Berne, 

Wash  ing  ton, 
Sa  lem, 
Oxford, 
Al  ha  ritf, 
St.  Ubes, 
Zante, 
Ma  lac  ca, 
g  Tomsk, 
Rich  Tnond, 
Prav  i  deuce, 
Me  ri  da. 
Cam  bridge, 
Cher  son, 
London  der  ry, 
Ir  kutsk, 
Zu  rich» 


1-S 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


109 


Thirteenth  Class— Contin 
In  spruck, 
Ath  ens, 
Pan  a  ma, 
Cin  cin  na  ti 

LARGE  TOWNS, 

Sim  a  lo  a, 
Got  tin  gen, 
Dron  theim, 
Nor  kop  ing, 
Port  land, 
Al  ex  an  dri  a, 
New  ark, 

Troy, 

Hart  ford, 

Mus  cat, 

Newport, 

Trux  il  lo, 

Sa  van  nah, 

George  town. 

New  Ha  ven, 

Pitts  burg. 

El  si  nore, 

Pe  gu, 

Sid  ney  Cove, 
Ports  mouth. 
Nan  tuck  et, 
Pe  tersburg,  {Vir.) 
New  bu  ry  port, 
Lan  cas  ter, 
Valparaiso, 
Bruns  wick, 
Le  on. 
Me  di  na, 


16 


- '  1-30 


o 

rJ=!>H 


Large  Towns — Contin. 

La  Qui  ra,  '] 
Cam  peach  y, 
Cay  enne. 
New  hern. 
Lynch  burg, 
Fred  er  ick  town, 
Lex  ing  ton, 
Wil  mmg  ton,  {Del.) 
Hud  son, 
St.  Au  gus  tine, 
Su  ez, 

SMALL  TOWNS. 
Up  sal,  ^ 
Fall  lun, 
Chris  tian  sand, 
Lou  is  viUe, 
St.  Lou  is, 
Santa  Fe, 
Au  gus  ta, 
New  Lon  don, 
Nash  x,ille, 
Co  lum  hi  a, 
York, 
King  slon. 
Nor  wich, 
Ra  high, 

Wil  ming  ton,  (N.  C.) 
Mo  bile, 
Chil  i  CO  the, 
Natch  ez. 
Mil  ledge  ville, 
Pen  sa  co  la, 
Knox  ville. 


11 

a>  > 


110 


GEOGRAPHY 


LESSON  TWENTY-NINTH- 
ISLANDS  ON  THE  MAP  OF  THE  WORLD. 

Mother.  Your  next  task  will  be  to  learn  the  sit- 
uation of  all  the  important  islands  in  the  world. 
You  may  consider  them  according  to  their  contigu- 
ity  to  the  continents,  as  being  ranked  under  six 
general  heads. — 1.  The  American  Islands.  2. 
The  European.  3.  The  African.  4.  The  Asiatic. 
5.  Australasia.    6.  Polynesia. 

In  questioning  you  on  the  American  Islands  I 
shall  pursue  the  following  order: — What  are  the 
islands  in  the  Atlantic  east  of  N.  America  ?  What 
between  North  and  South  America?  What  Isl- 
ands are  east  of  S.  America  ?  What  South  ? 
What  west  in  the  Pacific  ?  What  west  of  N.  Amer- 
ica? 

On  the  European  Islands — What  are  in  the 
Northern  Ocean  ?  In  the  Baltic  Sea  ?  In  the  At- 
lantic including  Great  Britain  and  the  adjacent 
isles  ?    What  are  in  the  Mediterranean  ? 

On  the  African  Islands — What  are  those  west 
and  northwest  of  that  part  of  Africa  which  lies 
north  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  ?  What  west  of  the 
southern  part  ?  What  in  the  Indian  Ocean  east  of 
Africa? 

On  the  Asiatic  islands — What  islands  are  south 
of  Asia  in  the  Indian  Ocean  ?  What  East,  between 
Asia  and  Australasia  ?  These  are  sometimes  call- 
ed the  eastern  Archipelago.  What  are  near  the 
southern  coast,  south  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

On  Australasia — What  large  island  is  sometimes 
called  a  Gontinent?  What  island  north  of  it? 
What  south  ?  Mention  the  principal  islands  east  of 
New  Holland. 


FOK  BEGINNERS. 


Ill 


On  Polynesia — What  islands  belonging  to  Poly- 
nesia lie  north  of  the  equator  ?    What  south  ? 

In  answering  these  questions,  I  shall  expect  you 
only  to  mention  the  larger  islands  ;  the  names  of 
the  smaller  ones  you  will  not  generally  find  on  your 
map.  After  you  have  learned  them  in  this  system- 
atic order,  I  shall  exercise  you  by  promiscuous 
questions,  in  this  manner  :  Where  are  the  Philip- 
pine Islands?  What  island  is  south  of  Hindostan  ? 
What  east  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  ?  Where  is 
Ireland  ?    The  Society  Islands  ? 

If  you  can  answer  at  once,  when  I  question  you  in 
this  manner,  I  shall  know  that  you  have  studied 
your  map  faithfully ;  which  is  the  first  and  most 
important  step  towards  your  becoming  a  good  ge- 
ographer. 

WESSON  THIRTIETH. 

PLAN  OF  A  REVIEW  FOR  EXAMINATION. 

To  Teacliers.  Although  it  should  always  be  a 
teacher's  first  object  in  beginning  with  his  pupils 
on  any  subject  to  make  them  understand  it,  yet 
other  important  considerations  are  afterwards  to 
find  place.  A  subject  may  be  understood,  though 
it  has  not  received  sufficient  attention  to  be  well  re- 
membered ;  or  without  its  being  comprehended  in 
that  order  which,  with  the  least  labor  of  the  mem- 
ory, shall  put  the  learner  in  possession  of  the  greatest 
number  of  facts.  Hence  it  is  sometimes  profitable 
in  reviewing  and  preparing  pupils  for  examination, 
to  reverse  the  order  in  which  the  subject  is  presented 
for  them  to  learn.  Hence,  also,  the  method  of  ques- 
tioning on  any  study,  should  vary  with  the  pupil's 
progress,  and  the  rule  is,  that  as  he  advances,  his 
teacher  should  give  him  questions  more  and  more 
general,  and  finally  in  preparing  him  for  examina- 
K  2 


•112 


GEOGRAPHY 


tion,  confine  him  to  the  most  general  views  of 
which  the  subject  will  admit. 

Every  intelligent  and  able  teacher  has,  it  is  be- 
lieved,  methods  of  his  own,  which,  although  they 
may  not  be  intrinsically  better  than  those  adopted 
by  other  good  teachers,  are  yet  better  for  him.  It 
is  not  therefore  the  intention  of  the  author  to  lay 
down  decisively  any  plan  of  reviewing  this  work, 
but  to  leave  this  for  every  teacher  to  manage  in  his 
own  way.  Inexperienced  instructors  may,  howev- 
er, be  gratified  to  find  a  sketch  of  a  plan  for  exam- 
ination given  by  the  author,  such  as  is  pursued  in 
her  own  school. 

The  class  being  before  the  examiners,  the  teach- 
er calls  on  each  scholar  to  draw  some  one  of  the 
maps  belonging  to  the  work.  In  this  case  the  maps 
to  be  given  out,  if  the  directions  of  the  book  are 
followed,  would  be  the  map  of  the  pupil's  own  town — 
of  his  native  state — the  second  map  of  the  United 
States — the  third — the  map  of  Europe — and  lastly 
the  map  of  the  world.  If  the  class  is  numerous 
several  may  draw  the  map  of  the  world,  some  being 
directed  to  pay  particular  attention  to  the  geography 
of  Asia,  some  to  that  of  Africa,  and  some  to  South 
America,  these  being  to  separate  maps  of  these  pla- 
ces. Some  might  draw  maps  of  the  world,  for  the 
sake  of  comparing  the  rivers ;  some  paying  partic- 
ular attention  to  the  cities,  others  to  the  mountains, 
&c. 

From  half  an  hour  to  an  hour  is  given  to  the  pu- 
pils to  draw  their  maps,  no  models  being  now  al- 
lowed them.  The  time  taken  up  in  drawing  the 
maps,  can  at  the  pleasure  of  the  teacher  be  occu- 
pied by  the  examination  of  some  other  class,  or  in 
questioning  some  of  the  pupils  on  the  book.  The 
former  method  is  generally  preferred.  The  class 
being  called  forward  with  their  maps  ready  drawn, 


FOR  BEGINNERS.  ^  113 


can  then  be  asked  some  introductory  questions,  to 
be  answered  from  any  parts  of  the  book  where  the 
subjects  are  treated. 

Definitions. — Geography — form  of  the  earth — its 
surface^the  divisions  of  land  and  water — oceans- 
continents — seas — bay  s— gulfs — lakes  —  sounds  — 
the  greatest  depth  of  water — straits — mountains- 
rivers — connection  between  these  last— peninsulas — 
islands — isthmuses — capes.  What  information  does 
your  book  give  on  these  subjects  ?  Give  examples 
from  the  maps  drawn  for  the  examination. 

Second — concerning  maps.  What  appears  to  be 
the  best  method  of  acquiring  the  science  of  geogra- 
phy ?  The  first  step  tow^ards  drawing  a  map  ?  A 
scale  of  miles  ?  The  difference  between  any  number 
of  square  miles  and  so  many  miles  square  ? 

Boundaries— sea  coasts — rivers — citi  es— roads- 
mountains — How  delineated  on  a  map  ? 

Why  are  not  more  objects  placed  on  a  map  ?  When 
is  one  map  said  to  be  on  a  smaller  scale  than  another  ? 
What  is  the  consequence  of  diminishing  the  scale  ? 

After  these  and  any  other  introductory  questions 
which  the  teacher  may  choose  to  give,  the  pupils 
can  produce,  each  in  his  turn,  the  map  given  him  to 
draw.  He  should  point  to  the  state,  river,  or  city 
on  his  map,  while  he  explains  concerning  them  what- 
ever he  is  directed  by  his  instructor.  He  can  here 
exhibit  a  great  deal  of  knowledge  in  a  short  time,  and 
show  his  power  of  communicating  the  ideas  in  his 
mind,  in  the  important  methods  of  speaking  and 
drawing.  If  he  points  to  his  map,  while  he  speaks, 
this  is  a  kind  of  language  of  signs,*  which  shows  as 

■  *  The  teacher  who  is  ambitious  that  his  class  should  do  well, 
must,  among  other  things,  pay  previous  attention  to  his  perfor- 
mance in  this  language  of  signs :  being  carefid  that  his  pupil's 
hand  always  follows  his  words,  moving  his  finger  or  pointer  so  as 
not  to  lag  behind  the  description. 

K  3 


114 


GEOGRAPHY 


distinctly  the  pupil's  knowledge  of  the  location  of 
the  city,  river,  &;c.  as  many  words  could  do. 

In  explaining  the  map,  the  pupil  of  course  follows 
his  teacher's  directions,  and  being  master  of  his 
subject,  he  is  not  hable  to  be  disconcerted  if  the  di- 
rections  are  not  given  in  any  preconcerted  order. 
But  in  general,  I  venture  to  say,  that  better  methods 
will  not  easily  be  desired,  than  those  which  the  in- 
structor  will  have  found  in  teaching  this  book,  be- 
cause  these  methods  have  been  chosen  from  a  care- 
ful  attention  to  those  operations  of  the  mind,  con- 
nected with  memory.  The  general  directions  given 
in  going  over  the  map  of  the  United  States,  are 
mostly  such  as  I  should  pursue  in  the  pupil's  expla- 
nation of  his  map  for  examination,  or  if  maps  were 
studied  and  not  drawn,  I  should  question  my  pupils 
much  in  the  same  method. 

First,  give  the  names  and  locations  of  the  stateSy 
connecting  a  number  of  them  where  it  is  practicable, 
with  some  one  important  object,  as  the  ocean,  a 
great  river,  or  a  natural  boundary.  Next,  give 
questions  on  the  particular  boundaries,  locations, 
and  direction  of  one  state  from  another,  &;c.  Then, 
the  mountains  and  rivers,  introducing  on  these  sub- 
jects the  questions  on  the  lessons  which  embrace  the 
plan  of  comparison.  Then,  cities,  their  comparative 
population,  location,  &c. ;  roads,  canals,  colleges,&c. ; 
the  teacher  remembering  that  when  anew  subject  is 
brought  forward  which  the  book  particularly  dwells 
upon,  that  it  is  proper  to  turn  the  scholar  aside  from 
the  explanation  of  his  map,  to  give  the  substance  of 
the  information  there  acquired.  On  these  subjects 
the  questions  connected  with  the  work  may  be  use- 
ful. Previous  to  the  explanation  of  the  map  of  the 
world,  the  questions  on  astronomical  geography,  lat- 
itude, longitude,  &c.  will  occur.  The  comparison 
of  ail  the  countries,  mountains,  rivers  and  cities  of 


FOR  BEGINNERS. 


115 


the  world,  will  very  properly  finish  the  explanation 
of  the  maps  ;  after  which  the  advantages  of  the 
study  of  geography  may  be  introduced,  unless 
where  the  teacher  has  chosen  to  commence  with  that 
subject ;  it  being  equally  proper  either  for  the  com- 
mencement or  the  conclusion  of  such  an  examina- 
tion. It  may  not  however  be  improper  to  remark, 
that  as  what  is  last  in  such  an  exhibition  rests  long- 
est on  the  mind,  the  teacher  would  do  well  to  close 
with  something  important,  and  if  possible,  with 
something  that  connects  the  study  with  the  Great 
Author  of  all  which  is  good. 


THE  AUTHOR'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 

My  Dear  Children — In  writing  this  little  work,  1 
have  cared  for  you.  I  have  been  anxious  to  be 
useful  to  you.  I  might  have  made  my  task  easy  by 
writing  out  parts  of  larger  works,  but  1  have  been 
chiefly  desirous  to  assist  you  in  understanding  your 
lessons.  How  many  abler  writers  are  also  giving 
their  best  thoughts  and  exertions  to  enlighten  you  ! 
how  many  teachers  are  laboring  to  instruct  you  ! 
how  many  parents  are  devoting  their  lives  to  give 
you  the  means  of  improvement !  Exert  yourselves, 
that  our  labors  be  not  in  vain. 

Does  it  not  sometimes  surprize  you,  that  people 
should  consider  you  of  so  much  consequence  ?  You 
are  fond  of  your  little  sports,  and  are  sometimes  apt 
to  feel  that  these  are  your  most  important  concerns, 
and  to  think  it  almost  unkind  that  you  should  be  re- 
quired to  study,  and  not  left,  like  the  butterfly,  to 
wander  and  play  at  your  will.  Learn  better  to  esti- 
mate your  own  value.  You  are  hereafter  to  consti- 
tute a  nation,  and  that  nation  the  first  great  Ameri- 
K  4 


116 


GEOGRAPHY 


can  Republic.  Proud  and  happy  above  that  of  all 
the  nations  who  have  gone  before  you,  will  your  po- 
litical destiny  be,  if  you  prepare  yourselves  by  edu- 
cation to  sustain  the  government  under  which  you 
have  the  happiness  to  be  born.  The  good  and  wise 
of  every  land  look  to  your  country  to  move,  before 
the  nations,  as  did  the  pillar  of  fire  before  the  Is- 
raelites, to  lead  the  way  to  liberty  and  happiness. 
It  rests  with  you  to  realize,  or  disappoint  their 
hopes. 

The  butterfly  after  it  has  fluttered  for  a  few  days 
exists  no  longer.  You  are  to  live  forever.  If  you 
stood  on  the  banks  of  a  little  brook  which  seemed 
playing  with  the  pebbles  over  which  it  murmured, 
you  would  be  delighted  with  its  pleasantness,  as 
those  are  with  yours,  who  see  you  at  your  sports. 
But  suppose  you  were  told  that  this  was  the  very 
brook  which  became,  by  constantly  adding  to  its 
waters,  the  mighty  Amazon,  how  would  your  ideas 
of  its  importance  be  instantly  changed.  And  thus 
would  your  ideas  of  your  own  importance  be  chang- 
ed, could  you  learn  to  regard  yourselves  as  the 
christian  regards  you  ;  not  merely  as  respects  your 
course  through  this  life,  but  after  you  have  passed 
the  barrier  of  death,  and  opened  into  the  broad  ex- 
panse of  eternity. 

This  little  work  has  been  mostly  written  for  you, 
while  you  were  sleeping  in  your  beds  : — Perhaps  it 
may  be  studied  when  she  who  writes  it  shall  be 
sleeping  in  her  grave.  Impressed  with  this  thought, 
she  felt  an  affectionate  desire  to  address  to  you, 
children  of  her  country,  lambs  of  her  Saviour's  flock, 
a  short  but  tender  farewell. 


FOE  BEGIXN'ERS, 


117 


QUESTIONS  ON  GEOGRAPHY  FOR  BEGINNERS. 


* 


INTKODrCTOEY  CO>'VERSATION. 


Note  to  Instructors. — Xo  qiiesrions  on  these  lessons  -w  ere  given 
in  the  first  edition.  Being  in  a  great  measure  questions  and  ex- 
planations on  the  maps,  the  author  judged  them  unnecessary. 
They  are  now  added  by  request,  and  more  particularly  for  the 
benefit  of  inexperienced  teachers.  Shoidd  the  intelhgent  instruc- 
tor see  fit  to  use  them  at  all,  the  author  would  advise  him  to  say  to 
his  class — that  they  must  read  their  lessons  attentively,  and  make 
it  their  object  to  understand  them,  rather  than  be  upon  the  search 
for  answers  to  certain  questions,  telling  them  that  they  must  not 
expect  that  he  shall  be  confined  to  the  questions  here  given :  which 
they  may  consider^ — merely  as  specimens  of  the  kind  he  shall  ask 
them.  Those  given  here,  are  such  as  should  be  asked  the  first 
time  of  the  scholar's  going  over  the  book.  The  questions,  every 
time  of  reA-iewing,  should  become  more  general,  as,  for  instance 
on  the  first  page,  l±ie  second  time  it  is  recited,  instead  of  the  par- 
ticular manner  in  which  the  questions  were  before  given,  ask  what 
remarkable  animals  are  mentioned,  and  from  what  countries  they 
are  brought.  Again,  an  important  part  of  the  duty  of  the  teacher, 
is  to  guard  his  pupils'  from  ^ecei^ing  false  or  inadequate  notions 
from  the  books  they  study.  As  for  instance,  the  teacher  should 
inform  his  pupil  t?iat  there  are  some  other  countries  which  pro- 
duce the  animals,  friuts,  d:c.  mentioned.  In  short,  after  all  that 
books  can  do,  much  remains  for  the  living  teacher. 

In  "vfhat  coimtries  are  elephant  found  ?  Lions  ?  Monkeys  ? 
"What  coimtry  produces  oranges?  What  grapes,  which  being 
dried  become  raisins  ?  Where  does  the  tea  plant  grow  ?  \Vhere 
is  broadcloth  made  ?  What  is  remarked  concerning  a  spirit  of 
observation  ? 

Lesson  1st. — What  is  the  signification  of  the  term  Geography 
What  advantages  may  be  derived  from  a  good  knowledge  of  this 


118 


GEOGRAPHY 


science  to  people  in  general  ?  Of  what  use  might  it  be  to  a  far- 
mer ?  To  a  merchant  ?  To  a  statesman  ?  In  what  way  may  the 
study  of  geography  lead  the  mind  to  pious  reflections 

Lesson  2d.  How  does  the  earth  appear  ?  What  is  really  its 
form  1  What  are  around  it  ?  If  we  hved  on  a  different  side,  how 
would  our  feet  be  directed,  and  what  should  we  suppose  of  the 
part  of  the  heavens  towards  which  our  heads  pointed  ?  With 
what  is  the'  surface  of  the  earth  covered  ?  Which  occupies  the 
largest  portion,  land,  or  water  ?  What  is  the  first  step  towards 
learning  the  science  of  geography  ?  Can  words  convey  an  idea  of 
the  various  fonns  of  the  earth's  surface  ?  What  method  is  taken 
to  make  the  forms  and  situations  of  the  seas,  coimtries,  &c.  un- 
derstood ?  What  may  be  said  of  these  pictures  and  dehneations  ? 
Of  what  must  you  think  when  you  study  a  map  or  globe  ?  Can 
a  map  represent  all  the  objects  in  a  country  ? 

When  a  geographer  takes  his  position  to  draw  a  map,  which 
way  is  his  face  ?  His  right  hand  ?  Where  does  the  sun  rise  ? 
Give  some  accoimt  of  a  scale  of  miles.  What  is  the  difference 
between  any  number  of  square  miles,  and  as  many  miles  square  ? 
How  are  boundaries  represented  on  maps  ?  How  are  they  fixed 
upon  ?  What  is  a  natural  boundary  ?  What  method  is  taken  to 
prevent  quarrels  respecting  boundaiies  ?  How  are  those  between 
nations  determined  ?  By  what  is  a  place  said  to  be  boimded  ? 
How  are  rivers  represented  on  maps  ?  How,  a  shore  or  coast  ? 
What  is  an  island  ?  Can  you  tell  me  what  a  hill  is,  without 
reading  a  description  in  a  book  ?  What  is  that  called  which  is  an 
elevation  of  land  higher  than  a  hill  ?  How  are  mountams  and 
high  hills  represented  on  maps  ? 

Lesson  3d.  In  placing  a  city  on  a  map,  why  cannot  we  make 
a  picture  of  every  house  ?  What  is  the  proper  method  of  repre- 
senting a  city  or  village  ?  How  are  roads  delineated  ?  What  do 
you  mean  by  the  central  part  of  your  map  ?  the  northern?  the 
inorth  east,  &c.  ?  How  can  you  find  the  distance  of  any  two 
places  on  your  map  ?  When  is  one  map  said  to  be  on  a  larger 
scale  than  another  ?  If  without  enlarging  the  scale  of  your  map 
you  attempt  to  delineate  a  much  larger  country  upon  it,  what  will 
be  the  consequence  ? 

Note  to  Instructers.—^o  questions  are  made  on  the  Fourth, 
Fifth,  Sixth  and  Seventh  lessons.  The  reason  of  this  wiU  appear 
from  the  examination  of  those  lessons.  They  are  mostly  com- 
posed of  questions  on  the  maps,  with  such  directions  as  arejudged 
Sseful  both  to  teachers  and  pupils.  When  the  definitions  occui^ 
the  word  defined  is  put  in  itaUcs,  and  must  suggest  the  piopei 
question.  Many  similar  cases  occur,  in  the  course  of  the  work, 
where  the  author  thinks  questions  would  be  useless,  e\en  to  tlie 
most  inexperienced  teacher. 


FOR  BEGINNERS,  119 


^JjEsson  8th.  What  i8  the  subject  of  our  lesson  ?  What  is  the 
reason  that  the  water  in  brooks  and  rivers  moves  along  ?  Why 
does  it  move  where  the  ground  is  level  ?  Is  the  country  where  a 
river  rises,  higher  or  lower  than  that  through  which  it  flows  ? 
What  is  remarked  concerning  the  sources  of  rivers  ?  Into  what 
do  rivers  usually  discharge  their  waters  ?  What  is  the  mouth  of 
a  river  ?  What  can  you  say  respecting  the  course  of  rivers  ? 
Why  are  young  persons  sometimes  at  a  loss  about  the  course  of 
rivers  ?  How  could  you  judge  where  the  principal  mountains 
ought  to  be  placed  on  your  map?  What  can  you  tell  me  of 
mountains  ?  What  is  the  principal  range  in  the  United  States  ? 
Why  is  the  whole  chain  sometimes  called  the  Allegany  ?  What 
do  you  know  of  the  Allegany  mountains  ?  What  calculation  is 
made  respecting  the  length  of  time  it  would  take  to  make  a  jour- 
ney along  the  Allegany  mountains  through  their  whole  length  ? 
Describe  the  Green  mountains.  The  W^hite  Mountains.  Which 
are  the  principal  peaks  in  the  United  States  ? 

Lesson  11th.  How  many  days  would  it  take  to  travel  from 
the  mouth  to  the  source  of  the  Connecticut  River,  at  the  rate  of 
fifty  miles  a  day  ?  For  what  purpose  do  we  represent  the  Con- 
necticut River  by  a  unit  or  one  !  What  do  these  marks  — ) 
called  plus  and  minus,  signify  ?  What  rule  is  to  be  observed  in 
comparing  other  rivers  with  the  Connecticut  ? 

Lesson  12th.  WTiat  is  the  subject  of  your  lesson  ?  Speak- 
ing of  lakes  and  rivers,  what  is  meant  by  head  waters  and 
outlets  ? 

Lesson  13th.  What  is  a  city  ?  What  circumstances  render 
cities  important  objects  of  study  ?  What  do  we  mean  by  the 
capital  of  a  state  or  country  ?  In  what  cases  is  the  capital  the 
largest  city  ?  Why  is  it  sometimes  otherwise  in  our  country  ? 
What  constitutes  a  town  ?  a  county  ?  a  state  ?  What  in  our 
country  constitutes  the  general  government  ?  What  is  the  bu- 
siness of  Congress  ?  In  what  city  do  they  meet,  and  what  is 
the  building  called  where  they  convene  ?  What  do  we  mean 
by  a  state  house  ?  What  is  the  largest  city  in  the  United  States 
and  what  number  of  people  live  in  it  ?  What  is  meant  by  taking 
the  census  ? 

*  What  is  the  state  of  learning  in  the  United  States.  ?  What 
are  the  regulations  concerning  schools  in  New  England  ?  Is  there 
equal  attention  paid  to  education  in  the  other  parts  of  the  United 
States  ?  In  what  respects  do  colleges  differ  from  academies  ? 
Which  are  the  two  most  important  colleges  m  our  country  ? 
How  many  instructors,  called  professors,  tutors,  &c.  are  there 
in  these  colleges  ?  What  is  a  library  ?  How  many  books  are 
there  in  the  library  at  Cambridge  ?  What  is  meant  by  a  college 
apparatus  ? 


120  eEOGRAPHY 

Lesson  14th.  What  are  canals  ?  Which  is  the  principal  canal 
m  tlie  United  States  ?  Where  is  the  Northern  Canal  ?  Give  a 
particular  description  of  a  canal.  Why  are  canals  useful  ?  What 
IS  the  use  of  locks  ?  Give  some  account  of  the  Lakes  in  New 
rr--,  mineral  springs.  What  two  extensive  swamps  in  the 
United  States  and  where  situated  ? 

Lesson  15th.  What  do  you  understand  by  the  numbers 
placed  on  your  map  within  each  state  ?  What  do  you  consider 
as  the  unit,  or  measure  country  ?  What  do  you  observe  of  the 
extent  of  the  United  States  on  the  western  side  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi ?  What  is  the  number  of  square  miles  in  the  United 
States  ?  What  is  remarked  concerning  the  productions  of  the 
United  States  ? 


Lesson  16,  What  ocean  must  you  cross  to  go  to  Europe  ?  In 
what  direction,  and  what  distance  must  you  go?  What  circum- 
stances make  Europe  a  very  interesting  country  to  us  ? 

Lesson  17th.   What  can  you  say  concerning  Germany  ? 

Lesson  18th.  What  is  about  the  length  and  height  of  the 
principal  mountains  of  Europe  ?  Describe  a  volcano  or  burning 
mountain  at  the  time  of  its  eruption.  Do  volcanoes  always  exhibit 
the  same  appearance  ?  What  is  the  crater  of  a  volcano  ?  What 
effects  are  sometimes  produced  by  volcanoes  ?  What  is  lava  ? 
What  are  the  principal  volcanic  mountains  of  Europe,  and  their 
height  ? 

Lesson  19th.  What  reasons  can  you  give  why  a  map  is  not  so 
perfect  a  representation  of  the  earth's  surface,  as  a  globe  ?  What 
other  reason  can  be  given  for  preferring  a  globe  to  the  map  of 
the  world  ?  What  is  the  greatest  distance  which  any  two  places 
can  be  from  each  other  ?  What  one  advantage  is  there  in  stu- 
dying from  a  map  which  the  globe  does  not  afford  ?  What  is 
that  vast  collection  of  water  called  which  covers  so  large  a 
portion  of  the  surface  of  the  earth  ?  How  are  oceans  divided  ? 
How  is  the  land  divided  ?  How  is  the  eastern  continent  divided  ? 
The  western  ?  What  are  sometimes  called  the  four  quarters  of 
the  globe  ? 

Lesson  20th.  Describe  the  parallels  of  latitude.  What  is 
meant  by  one  line  being  parallel  to  another  ?  Are  these  lines  really 
drawn  around  the  earth  ?  Where  is  the  equator  drawn  ?  Why 
might  we  not  imagine  the  equator  and  poles  as  well  at  one  place 
as  another  ?  What  is  there  peculiar  in  the  place  where  the  equa- 
tor is  represented  to  be  ?  At  what  two  periods  in  the  year  is  the 
sun  directly  over  the  earth's  equator  ?    What  are  these  periods 


FOR  BEGINNERS 


121 


called  ■*  "VMiat  can  vou  sav  of  the  days  and  nighl»,  and  rising 
and  setting  of  the  smi  at  the'time  in  which  the  sim  is  at  the  equa- 
tor ?  What  would  be  the  apDeaxance  of  the  sun  at  this  time  to  a 
person  at  the  equator  ?  How  woula  it  appear  to  a  person  thus 
situated,  from  the  •20th  of  3Iareh  to  the  ilst  of  June  :  How^  trora 
the  ilst  of  June  to  the  2-2d  of  September  ?  From  the  •2-2d  ol  Sep- 
tember to  the  eist  of  December  ?  From  the  2131  ol  Peeember  to 
the  -^Orh  of  3Iarch  ?  At  what  time  the  s'ln  larthen  to  the 
north  1  To  the  south  ?  How  is  a  :  • 
are  called  the  solstices  ?  Describe  V-pear- 
ance  of  the  Sim  at  the  equator  on  the  -----  P^?" 

pie  see  the  sim  north  of  them  ?  What  is  meuiu  'oy  sun  s 
being  vertical  ?  What  is  the  zenith  ?  "VMiat  is  the  horizon  -. 
What  are  its  cardinal  points  ?    "V^liat  is  the  meridian  ■ 

Lesson  21st.  How-  far  to  the  north  is  the  sun  ever  vertical  ? 
Describe  the  tropics.  \Miat  is  that  portion  of  the  earth  oyer 
which  the  sun  is  sometimes  venical  1  What  is  this  portion 
called  1  Do  the  davs  and  nights  continue  equal  as  we  go  from 
the  equator  to  the  poles  ?  Beyond  wdiat  parallels  of  latitude  do 
the  inhabitants  have  days  more  than  twentA'-four  hour^  ui  length  ? 
^Vhax  are  these  parallels  called  ?  How  would  the_  sun  aop.ear  a 
person  situated  at  the  Arctic  circle  on  the  iOth  of  Maix-h  ?  How 
would  it  appear  at  the  same  place  from  the  20th  of  3Iarch  till  the 
21st  of  June  ?  From  this  time  till  the  22d  of  September  ?  How- 
would  it  appear  at  the  autumnal  equinox  and  afterwards  till  the 
2Ist  of  December  ?  From  this  time  till  the  period  Avhen  you  rr.m- 
menced  your  observations  of  the  sun  at  the  Arctic  circle  ■  ould 
the  same  appearances  be  exhibited  at  the  Antarctic  circle  ■  hat 
science  will  these  observations  lead  you  to  understand  1 


Lessox  22d.  "V^liat  is  the  subjeer  of  your  lesson  ?  What 
method  should  you  take  to  learn  the  suu's  apparent  path  in  the 
heavens  ?  Into  how  many  degrees  are  all  circles  said  to  be  di- 
vided ■  Wliat  are  degrees  ■  How  many  degrees  m  a  quarter  of 
a  circle  ?  On  what  Ihie  is  the  sun  always  at  noon  ?  If  at  noon 
the  sun  should  be  about  half  wa_v  from  the  zenith  to  the  horizon, 
how  shoidd  you  uTite  your  obser^-atioiis  ?  If  one  third  how  should 
you  express  it  ?  T^liat  should  you  notice  about  the  horizon 
r;-specting  the  disrance  from  the  point  east  to  the  point  south? 
Also  from  east  to  north  .'  If  the  sun  shoidd  seem  to  rise  about- 
one  ninth  part  of  the  distance  trom  east  to  south  how  would  you 
express  it  :  ^>  hat  circumstance  respecting  the  sun  is  now  ne- 
cessary for  you  to  kr:  -  :-umg  your  inquiries  ?  Draw-  and 
explain  the  figure  A',  :.  -  iirs  the  sim  moving  from  the  ho- 
rizon to  the  meridie...  n  you  know,  as  you  look  up  lo 
the  sky,  where  to  trace  ine  e^j^uator  of  the  heavens  ■  How  could 
you  make  a  judgment  concerning  the  latitude  of  the  place  where 
you  live  ? 


122 


eEOGRAPHY 


Does  the  sun  really  change  his  place  with  respect  us  ?  What 
examples  can  you  give  of  objects  appearing  to  move,  when,  in 
reaUty,  the^  ai-d  at  rest,  and  yourself  in  motion  ?  >    .  . 

To  what  part  of  the  earth  do  the  feet  of  the  inhabitants  always, 
point  ?  What  can  you  say  of  the  part  of  the  heavens  to  which 
our  heads  are  directed  ?  What  line  can  you  imagine  to  assist  you 
to  vinderstand  this  difficult  subject  ?  Suppose  a  person  should 
move  from  the  equator  to  the  north,  so  gently  that  he  does  not 
perceive  his  own  motion,  carrying  this  line  with  him,  the  top  of 
which  is  his  zenith,  how  will  the  sun  appear  to  him"?  Or  if  he 
goes  to  the  south  ?  What  appearance  of  the  sun  is  thus  accounted 
for,  without  supposing  that  either  the  sun  or  the  earth  changes  its 
place,  but  only  the  observer  ?  How  might  the  sun's  apparent 
daily  motion  round  the  earth  from  east  to  west  be  accounted  for  ? 
What  is  the  true  cause  ?  What  is  meant  by  the  axis  of  a  body 
which  has  circular  motion  7  What  is  the  earth's  axis  ?  What 
other  motion  has  the  earth  besides  that  made  around  its  axis  eveiy 
day  ?    To  what  may  the  motion  of  the  earth  be  compared  ? 

Lesson  23d.  What  two  places  do  you  find  in  going  from  the 
equator  to  either  pole,  where  the  sun  exhibits  remarkable  changes 
in  its  appearance  ?  How  do  the  .tropics  and  polar  circles  divide 
the  earth  ?  What  is  the  general  rule  respecting  cUmates  ?  What 
ai'e  the  two  principal  exceptions  to  this  rule  1  Give  a  description 
of  the  climate  of  the  different  regions  of  the  earth,  according  to 
the  general  facts.  On  what  account  do  comitries  differ  in  their 
vegetable  prodxictions  ?  What  vegetables  are  peculiar  to  hot 
countries?  What  to  warm  countries  ?  What  to  temperate  ?  How 
does  the  appearance  of  vegetation  alter  in  going  towards  the  Poles  ? 
Has  climate  any  effect  upon  animals  ?  Which  are  the  most  common 
animals  of  the  temperate  zones  ?  What  are  common  to  all  lati- 
tudes ?  Do  the  same  animals  exhibit  the  same  appearance  in 
different  climates  ?  What  can  you  say  of  the  animals  of  the 
torrid  zone  ?  What  of  that  dreaded  portion  of  the  animal  world 
called  reptiles  ?  What  are  the  most  useful  animals  of  the  cold 
regions  ? 

Lksson  24th.  What  is  meant  by  latitude  ?  How  is  it  reckon- 
ed ?  How  many  degrees  on  the  earth  make  a  mile  ?  How  many 
degrees  are  the  poles  from  the  equator  ?  What  part  of  a  degree  is 
one  minute  ?  In  what  way  could  you  find  by  multiplication  the 
circumference  of  the  earth  ?  In  what  way  can  you  find  the  lati- 
tude of  a  place  on  the  map  of  the  world. 

Lesson  25th.  How  can  you  find  the  latitude  of  S.  Amer- 
ica? Of  N.America?  Of  Europe?  Of  Asia?  Of  New  Hol- 
land ? 

Lksson  26th.  What  are  the  meridians  of  places  ?  What 
places  have  noon  sooner  than  we  do  ?   What  later  ?   What  me- 


CALL  NUMBER 


Vol. 


Date  (for  periodical) 


Copy  No. 


72. B£  WS92 


1S7140 


,    •  -.RTiSEMENT, 

The  [j;ai  ..:  i%  in  many  re;;r.pects 

liar  to  itsei!  \c .  '  ;»rof<..^ses  superior  advantag 
the  young  begimi^^r.  The  generd  Jsystem  (like  the 
others  of  the  .series)  is  formed  upon  the  principle.'^ 
•of  cO'dparison  and  classification,  tlie  application  of 
whicih  to  facilitate  the -science  of  Geography,  and 
with  tho  most  eminent  success,  is  claimed  to  have 
originated  wth'  the  -^^uthors  of  this  series'.  The 
followin'g  remarks  are  extracted  from^  tht  Ameri- 
\  n  jbirrnal  of  Educatirtri,"  a  >v^ork  of  hi^-h  repiita- 
jcn  piiblis^^ed  in  Boston,  and  devoted  exriiiS^  v  eh' to 
tL  i  itn-jrests  of .  education* 

I -f-x titc  ■^•,.mf>rtcan'-  SoUrml  of  lAiucah^'.'. 

-  ^  fair  attempt  at  rationa], 
a  cue"' instruction,  yeryy;"!).:. 
her-:  acquire- some  just  aud  accv*'- 
trr':  remarkable  ard  Interesting  Rja 
topoj:7aphy  of  their  vicinity,  aad  the  gee       ;  nt 
their  own  <'o\intry ;  fi'om  wHicb  they  procee  >  > 
f  fortign  regions,  comparing  as  they 'go  on,. .  n  ery 
b]t?t  -Av.iV'U  laid  before  them  in  thip-  hook; .  with 
rm  ikihg  w'dldn  tke  range  of  their  own  observationi 
i/his  litti'^  ^vork,  in  the  hands  of  an  infcenigent 
motixcT  .J  j  :  •  icirv  teacher,  may  put  a  child  in  pos^ 
session  o;f  m.^reti^ffl^ful  iat\)rm.ation  'than  is  to  be.  found 
in  rao  '^Hf;  ■  ■         geogipapines  ;  not  that  it  Qifers 
9.1  ch  a  ;naliit-.»r;e  if  fscts*  b^t  that  ;t.  sheets  the  fa- 
uiiK-ar,  u¥:      ci'iifibie,  the  in\portant,— •  -tV-oKe  whic^i 
wi'l  {..■ .  ,     •  ^^r-iders,  practica?.  arid 

■usefiKj-     y      in.;  stage   tf  aauai  a 
fiiW  •exh'.bi.ton  of  i:he:.f'- 1  vahtu^es  pos-^dsse; 
little. work,  seethe  Tl^ivi       ntii    an;— - 
preface. 

mrifvrd'Sept..  1831.  • 

\  - 


